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PRINCETON  THEOLOGICAL 
SEMINARY 

PRINCETON,  NEW  JERSEY 


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THE  WEEK-DAY  CHURCH-SCHOOL 

*■ ■  '  

HENRY   FREDERICK   COPE 


THE   WEEK-DAY 
CHURCH-SCHOOL 


BY 

HENRY  FREDERICK  COPE 

GENERAL   SECRETARY   OF   THE    RELIGIOUS    EDUCATION   ASSOCIATION 

Author  of  "Education  for  Democracy,"   <<The   School 

in  the  Modern  Church,"  **EfEciency  in  the  Sunday 

School,"  "Religious  Education  in  the  Church,"  etc. 


PWNCEIONTHfOLOGICALS&'li 


FEB  I  I  I9P^ 


NEW  ^'%Sir  YORK 
GEORGE  H.  DORAN  COMPANY 


COPYRIGHT,  1921, 
BY  GEORGE  H.  DORAN  CX)MPANY 


PRINTED  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA 


INTRODUCTION 

This  is  simply  a  book  of  information. 

This  is  not  a  treatise  on  the  theory  of  week-day  work  or  of 
religious  education  in  general,  neither  is  it  a  book  on  method,  in 
the  educational  sense,  but  it  is  an  attempt  to  do  four  things,  viz. : 
First,  to  state  briefly  the  present  situation  and  need;  Second,  to 
gather  up  the  records  of  what  is  being  attempted  and  accom- 
plished in  the  development  of  plans  for  the  religious  education 
of  children  during  the  week-days;  Third,  to  so  arrange  this  in- 
formation that  it  will  be  of  service  to  all  who  are  seeking  to  carry 
out  similar  plans;  and,  Fourth,  to  furnish  them  with  some  of  the 
simple  principles  and  the  bare  facts  which  must  underlie  all 
such  work. 

The  author  is  deeply  indebted,  and  he  believes  that  those  who 
follow  in  week-day  religious  instruction  will  also  find  themselves 
deeply  indebted,  to  the  many  very  busy  men  and  women  who 
have  so  cheerfully  furnished  information,  often  with  painstaking 
attention  to  detaD,  in  response  to  his  requests.  Sometimes  first- 
hand studies  could  be  made  of  particularly  significant  experi- 
ments; but  more  frequently  it  has  been  necessary  to  depend  on 
reports  from  those  at  work. 

Space  does  not  permit  of  full  accounts  of  all  schools.  Indeed 
there  are  many  that  are  not  even  mentioned.  But  those  who 
seek  further  information  are  advised  to  consult  the  bi-monthly 
magazine.  Religious  Education,  which  seeks  to  make  known  the 
principal  educational  facts  regarding  this  highly  important  field 
of  effort. 

One  motive  underlies  this  book,  to  advance  religious  nurture 
by  an  attempt  to  give  the  fruits  of  wide-spread  experimentation 
to  all  workers  and  inquirers.  One  motive  must  underlie  all  our 
endeavors,  that  every  child  may  have  his  full  heritage  and 
especially  the  fulness  of  his  religious  heritage,  and  so  be  ready 
for  the  development  of  the  full  heritage  of  the  race  in  a  religious 
social  order, 

Henry  Feederick  Cope. 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

I    The   Current  Situation        ...•.•.  ii 

II    The   Present  Emergency      ...      y      ...  17 

III  Why  Week-Day  Schools?     ....,,,  25 

IV  The  Churches  in  Week-Day  Work 33 

V    A   Survey  of  Present  Plans 40 

VI    A  Discussion  of  Programs     ...'..,.  47 

VII    The  Schools  of  Religion  at  Gary 56 

VIII    Three  Typical  Plans: 

Van  Wert,  Ohio;  Batavia,  Illinois;  Corydon,  Iowa  67 

IX    A  Group  of  Typical  Plans: 

Rochester,  Toledo,  Hammond,  Cuyahoga  Falls,  Somer- 
ville,  Northfield,  Evanston,  Oak  Park,  Cincinnati, 
Baltimore,     Grand     Rapids,     New     York,     Elmira, 

Chicago,   etc 75 

X    A  Church  Summer  School: 

Dayton,    Ohio       .........  88 

XI    How  TO  Organize     .       .       .      »       ,      .       ,      .      .  94 

XII    Budgets  and  Maintenance 104 

XIII  Conditions  of  Successful  Work        .      .      .      .       .  m 

XIV  Dangers 118 

XV    The   Curriculum 125 

XVI    Vacation   Schools 140 

XVII    Special  Work  with  High-School  Students     .       .       ,  147 

vii 


viii  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

XVIII    Forms  Used  in  Schools 160 

XIX    Official  Resolutions  and  Declarations  of  Principles  170 

XX    Sources  of  Information 182- 

Index 189 


THE  WEEK-DAY   CHURCH-SCHOOL 


THE  WEEK-DAY 
CHURCH-SCHOOL 

CHAPTER  I 
THE  CURRENT  SITUATION 

The  situation  of  one  who  writes  to-day  on  week-day  instruc- 
tion in  religion  in  North  America  is  very  like  to  that  if  Hannah 
Moore,  or  one  of  her  contemporaries,  had  written  on  "The  Sun- 
day School"  over  one  hundred  years  ago.  There  are  these  dif- 
ferences, however :  in  this  new  enterprise  we  have  the  background 
of  a  century's  endeavors  in  Sunday  instruction  in  religion;  we 
have  the  background  of  general  elementary  education,  and,  most 
important  of  all,  we  have  a  fair  body  of  more  or  less  scientific 
material  on  the  principles  and  methods  of  religious  education. 
In  other  respects  the  situation  has  elements  of  similarity:  there 
are  a  large  number  of  unrelated,  separate  and  local  experiments 
in  week-day  instruction  which  vary  widely  in  almost  all  their 
details;  there  are  earnest  propagandists  of  the  general  plan  and 
of  particular  methods,  and  there  are  general  organizations  ready 
to  promote  both.  Best  of  all,  there  is  a  rapidly  developing  de- 
mand for  week-day  religious  instruction,  growing  out  of  the  pub- 
lic consciousness  of  its  need  and  value. 

It  will  be  worth  while,  before  entering  on  a  discussion  of  the 
principles  and  methods  of  week-day  religious  instruction,  to  take 
a  very  brief  survey  of  the  situation  as  it  now  stands  in  North 
America.  We  may  confine  the  survey  to  facts  and  leave  to 
another  chapter  any  discussion  of  causes  and  significances. 

I.      THE  EXTENT  OF  RELIGIOUS  INSTRUCTION 

First. — In  North  America  religious  instruction^  so  far  as 
Protestant  children  are  concerned,  is  confined  to  the  thirty-minute 
periods  of  Sunday  schools,  with  the  following  scattered  exceptions : 

11 


12  THE  WEEK-DAY  CHURCH-SCHOOL 

1.  There  are  occasionally  families  in  which  some  religious  in- 

struction is  given.    The  instances  are  very  few. 

2.  In  Churches: 

(1)  There  are  a  relatively  small  number  of  churches  which 
have  other  periods  of  instruction  on  Sunday  beside 
the  morning  hour: 

(a)  Some  Church  schools  have  two  periods  of  from 
thirty  to  forty-five  minutes  each  for  certain 
grades  on  Sunday  mornings;  a  very  few  have 
schedules  of  three  periods. 

(b)  Some  have  Sunday-afternoon  schools,  in  ad- 
dition to  the  morning  schools. 

(c)  Others  have  classes  for  special  groups,  as  for 
those  preparing  for  church  membership. 

(2)  Extensions  beyond  Sunday: 

(a)  There  are  classes  which  meet  in  the  week,  as 
mission-study  bands,  teacher-training  institutes, 
discussion  groups,  parents'  classes,  etc. 

(b)  In  a  small  number  of  churches  religious  instruc- 
tion is  a  part  of  the  program  of  certain  group 
organizations,  as  of  the  "Pioneers,"  "Leaders," 
"Trail-Rangers,"  "Tuxis,"  etc. 

(c)  Churches,  in  an  increasing  number,  hold  special 
week-day  schools,  usually  in  the  summer,  known 
as  Daily  Vacation  Bible  Schools. 

(d)  Churches,  in  an  increasing  number,  are  con- 
ducting regular  schedules  of  week-day  classes 
and  cooperating  in  maintaining  community 
programs  of  week-day  schools  of  religion. 

3.    Outside  the  Churches: 

(1)  Classes  in  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.;  in  the  Y.  W.  C.  A.,  reach- 
ing boys  and  girls  in  the  'teens  and  upward — com- 
monly enrolling  only  a  very  small  proportion  even  of 
those  in  Sunday  schools. 

(2)  In  public  schools  no  formal  religious  instruction  any- 
where in  the  United  States  except  for  the  fact  that  the 

reading  of  the  Bible  at  the  opening  of  public  schools 
is  required  in  the  following  states:  Pennsylvania, 
Massachusetts.  The  reading  of  the  Bible  is  permitted 
in  the  public  schools  by  special  statutory  provision  in 
Georgia,  Nebraska,  North  Dakota,  Indiana,  Texas, 
Iowa,  New  Jersey,  Kansas,  South  Dakota,  Oklahoma. 
The  reading  of  the  Bible  is  specifically  forbidden  in 


THE  CURRENT  SITUATION  13 

eleven    states:    Arizona,    California,    Idaho,    Illinois, 
Minnesota,  Montana,  Nevada,  Washington  and  Wis- 
consin.* 
There  are,  as  the  above  survey  shows,  at  best  eleven  forms 
under  which  religious  instruction  might  reach  a  North  American 
child,  but  these  qualifying  facts  must  be  borne  in  mind: 

1.  No  child  ever  any^vhere  participates  in  all  these  forms;  at 

the  best  only  a  small  proportion  participate  in  any  one. 

2.  No  community  has  all  these  forms  in  operation. 

3.  Many  of  the  forms  are  confined  to  a  very  few  communities. 

4.  By  far  the  greater  number  of  children  have  no  continuous 

effective  experience  of  any  of  these  forms. 

The  array  of  opportunities  may  seem  to  be  impressive,  but  it 
is  the  impressiveness  only  of  variety  and  not  of  magnitude. 
Some  of  the  methods  mentioned  are  merely  in  an  experimental 
stage;  they  are  used  only  in  rare  instances.  We  must  not  be 
misled  by  this  survey  into  supposing  that  there  are  a  wealth  of 
opportunities;  on  the  contrary,  nearly  all  the  forms  mentioned, 
outside  the  Sunday  school,  are  infrequent  and  limited  in  scope. 

On  the  whole  we  reach  the  conclusion  as  to  methods:  for 
Protestant  children  the  standard  provision  is  the  05®-bour-a- 
Sunday  period  of  instruction.  Beyond  this  we  have  only  a 
number  of  unrelated  experiments  in  the  extension  of  religious 
instruction. 

Second. — In  the  experience  of  the  individual  the  present  pro- 
gram of  fifty-two  lessons  periods  annually  of  thirty  minutes  each 
in  the  Sunday  school  is  subject  to  serious  reductions: 

1.  Even  those  enrolled  do  not  attend  with  general  regularity. 

This  school  has  no  standards  of  regular  attendance  which 
at  all  approach  those  of  public  education.  Probably  the 
average  number  of  periods  annually  is  under  30. 

2.  The  vacation  period  of  the  Summer  reduces  the  periods 
to  forty  in  number  for  large  numbers  of  the  most  regular 
attendants. 

*  This  question  of  Bible  reading  in  public  schools  is  not  directly  related 
to  the  present  plans  of  week-day  religious  instruction  and  is  only  intro- 
duced to  complete  the  survey  of  all  the  possibilities  under  which  children 
might  anywhere  receive  instruction  on  religious  subjects.  The  formal 
reading  of  verses  f^'om  the  Bible,  even  if  it  were  a  desirable  practice  in 
public  schools,  could  hardly  be  counted  as  of  any  special  value ;  under  no 
imaginable  circumstances  could  it  be  regarded  as  a  substitute  for  instruc- 
tion in  religion. 

For  a  discussion  of  the  religious,  legal  and  ethical  difficulties  in  the 
use  of  the  Bible  in  public  schools  see  Ch.  XV  of  "Education  for  Democ- 
racy" (Scribner's). 


14  THE  WEEK-DAY  CHURCH-SCHOOL 

1     3.    Further  reductions  are  occasioned  by  the  custom  of  abandon- 
ing or  shortening  class  work  for  special  occasions. 
4.     The  customary  thirty  minutes  is  seriously  abbreviated  by 
interruptions. 

II.      INDIVIDUAL  CROSS-SECTION  STUDIES 

We  get  another  comparative  view  of  the  relations  between 
general  education  and  religious  instruction  if  we  take  a  few 
typical  cases  and  examine  them  in  some  detail.  So  small  a 
number  as  is  here  presented  will  prove  nothing,  but  they  are 
only  samples;  any  observer  may  gather  much  larger  numbers, 
and  careful  investigations  have  demonstrated  that  the  first  type 
represents  a  much  smaller  number  than  the  second,  and  that  the 
two,  first  and  second,  represent  together  a  much  smaller  number 
than  the  third.  But  the  point  of  this  comparison  is  simply  to 
suggest  how  widely  the  experience  of  children  may  vary  in 
regara  to  religious  instruction. 

Maeion  C (age   12).     Sunday:  school   9:30 — 10:45,   including 

thirty  minutes  of  class  work,  principally  on  the  Bible;  attenda 
church  with  parents,  in  the  morning;  evening  prayers  and  songs 
at  home. 

Monday   to   Friday:      Twenty-seven   hours  of  public    school, 
with  four  to  five  hours  ^  home  study. 

Thursday:      Church    club,    with    fifteen    minutes'    instruction. 
Thirty  minutes  weekly  home-study  on  Sunday-school  lesson. 
Saturday:     Music  instruction,  one  hour. 
Summary  : 

General   definite  instruction    1680  minutes  per  week 

Eeligious  definite  instruction    45  minutes  per  week 

Proportion:     One  of  religion  to  thirty-seven  secular. 

Aethur  li (age  12).     Sunday:   School  with  thirty  minutes'  in- 
struction.    Seldom  attends  church. 

Monday  to  Friday:     Twenty-seven  hours  of  public  instruction. 
Summary: 

General   definite   instruction    1620  minutes  per  week 

Eeligious    instruction    30  minutes  per  week 

Proportion:     One  of  religion  to  fifty-four  secular. 

Beetha  S (age   12).     No  Sunday  school  or  any  form  of   re- 
ligious instruction;    twenty-seven   hours   of   general   instruction. 

Taking  a  group  of  three  hundred  children  in  a  fairly  pros- 
perous community  it  was  found  that  the  proportions  were: 

In  the  most  favorable  cases one  to  thirty-three 

In  the  median  cases one  to  sixty 

In  the  lower  cases,  no  religious  instruction  at  all — and  this  group 
represents  approximately  three-fourths  of  the  child  population. 

Are  American  children  getting  a  fair  share  of  religious  instruction? 


THp  CURRENT  SITUATION  15 


in.      STATISTICAL  SURVEYS 

Some  years  ago  the  writer  made  a  very  careful  study  of 
religious  instruction  in  the  city  of  Chicago,  which  covered  nearly 
two  years  in  time  and  involved  personal  visits  to  nearly  one 
thousand  church  schools  of  practically  all  religious  faiths.  It  is 
not  necessary  to  reproduce  the  totals  of  figures;  but  it  may  be 
worth  while  to  say  that  the  method  involved  discriminations  be- 
tween the  enrolments  of  schools  and  the  numbers  of  pupils 
actually  attending,  the  elimination  of  all  who  were  under  or 
over  public-school  age  and  an  attempt  to  determine  the  time 
actually  spent  in  teaching.  Here  are  the  results:  Of  the  total 
numbers  of  children,  between  the  ages  of  five  and  eighteen  in 
Chicago,  only  one  out  of  every  five  was  receiving  any  regular 
instruction  in  religion  in  any  kind  of  school  or  church  whether 
Protestant,  Catholic,  Hebrew  or  any  other  kind. 

Four-fifths  of  the  children  were  without  religious  instruction. 

Taking  round  numbers  this  meant: 

200,000  under  religious  instruction  (in  Sunday  schools) 
800,000  without  religious  instruction  of  any  kind. 

Moreover  since  any  one  who  attended  any  school  twelve  times 
in  a  year  was  counted  as  under  regular  instruction,  the  situation 
is  really  much  worse  than  the  figures  indicate.  The  200,000  un- 
der religious  instruction  averaged  under  60%  perfect  attendance, 
while  the  800,000  averaged  nearly  85%  attendance  at  public 
schools. 

More  recently  we  have  had  the  reports  of  the  Inter-Church 
World  Movement's  surveys  of  religious  education;  these  surveys 
did  not  cover  many  communities;  they  were  planned  to  select  a 
small  number  of  typical  "samples,"  a  few  cities,  some  suburbs, 
some  villages,  and  certain  rural  districts. 

The  first  reports  were  not  based  on  surveys  but  on  partial  inves- 
tigations and  estimates.  But  they  are  worth  quoting  as  expres- 
sions of  the  judgment  and  conclusions  of  persons  deeply  con- 
cerned with  the  problem  who  have  gathered  information  on  this 
matter  over  a  wide  field. 

To  quote  from  the  reports  in  the  "Surveys"  used  by  the  Inter- 
Church  World  Movement  in  May,  1920.  There  are  28,529,950 
persons  under  twenty-five  years  of  age,  belonging  to  the  Prot- 
estant group,  not  in  any  Sunday  school.  There  are  rather  less 
than  half  this  number  enrolled  in  Sunday  schools. 


16  THE  WEEK-DAY  CHURCH-SCHOOL 

Taking  the  total  population  and  including  all  faiths: 

Population  under  twenty-five  yeara  of  age 53,575,040 

Enrolled  for  any  kind  of  religious  instruction 16,318,900 

Not  enrolled  under  religious  instruction 37,256,140 

It  must  be  noted  that  the  last  report  above  includes  children 
of  all  faiths  and  take  into  account  the  developed  parochial  sys- 
tem of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church,  the  formal  religious  schools 
(the  Kehillah)  and  the  Sabbath  and  week-day  schools  of  the 
Jews. 

In  order  to  complete  this  picture  we  need  to  include  every  other 
agency,  beside  the  church  school  or  Sunday  school,  through  which 
children  are  now  receiving  religious  instruction.  This  would  in- 
clude the  various  forms  itemized  in  Section  I  above,  and  prac- 
tically the  private  elementary  and  high  schools.  But  it  is  almost 
impossible  to  obtain  exact  figures  for  these  schools;  it  is  difficult 
to  determine  the  extent  to  which  they  give  religious  instruction, 
and,  after  all,  the  number  of  children  enrolled  in  them  all  is 
relatively  small  as  compared  with  the  number  in  public  schools. 
Outside  of  the  parochial  schools  few  private  elementary  schools 
give  any  systematic  religious  instruction. 

For  the  sake  of  accuracy  it  is  necessary  to  remember  that  the 
reports  of  Sunday  schools  usually  give  the  enrolments  of  pupils 
and  that  these  enrolments  commonly  include  large  numbers  of 
names  of  pupils  who  have  no  connection  with  the  school.  An 
attendance  basis  would  seriously  decrease  the  totals.  A  number 
of  tests  show  that  it  is  safe  to  discount  every  enrolment  fully 
30%  in  order  to  arrive  at  a  generous  estimate  of  conditions  or 
of  vital  contact  with  the  school. 

After  investigations  and  studies  covering  every  section  of  the 
United  States  and  every  type  of  community,  and  extending  over 
nearly  twenty  years  two  conclusions  are  reached: 

1.  That  the  present  systems  of  religious  instruction  in  Protes- 
tant churches  reach  in  any  effective  manner  whatsoever  not  more 
than  one-fourth  of  their  children. 

2.  That  the  present  systems  of  religious  instruction  in  Protes- 
tant churches  afford  a  continuous  and  effective  system  of  religious 
education  to  much  less  than  one-tenth  of  their  children. 

In  summary  the  situation  stands : 

Only  one-fourth  of  our  children  get  as  much  as  thirty-five 
periods,  of  less  than  thirty  minutes  each  annually,  of  religious 
instruction. 


CHAPTER  II 
THE  PRESENT  EMERGENCY 

The  conclusions  reached  in  the  preceding  chapter  ought  to  be 
sufficiently  startling  to  call  for  careful  consideration.  They  have 
not  been  hastily  determined  nor  have  they  been  expressed  in  any 
spirit  of  drastic  criticism.  Whether  one  agrees  with  the  figures 
or  not,  every  thoughtful  observer  knows  that  they  represent  con- 
ditions which  demand  serious  inquiry  into  causes. 

I.      WHY    IS    ONLY    ONE    PROTESTANT     CHILD     IN     FOUR    RECEXVING 
RELIGIOUS  INSTRUCTION? 

1.  Intensified  school  competition.  The  modern  child  is  under 
a  rapidly  developing  instructional  pressure ;  he  is  subject  to  more 
exact  and  extensive  schooling  than  the  child  of  a  few  decades  ago. 
Public  free  schools  and  the  Sunday  schools  have  gTown  up  side 
by  side,  but  the  former  have  grown  much  faster  than  the  latter 
even  when  all  allowances  have  been  made  for  the  differences  in 
their  respective  fields.  Elementary  education  offers  more  and  de- 
mands more  every  year.  The  curriculum  of  the  school  has  been 
enriched;  sometimes  its  encyclopedic  reach  is  manifestly  absurd: 
The  school  encroaches  on  home-life  and  often  appears  to  regard 
itself  as  responsible  for  every  hour  of  the  child's  life  and  every 
aspect  of  his  person — except  the  moral  and  spiritual.  It  reaches 
into  his  daily  physical  regime,  his  recreation  and  his  social  activi- 
ties. This  is  not  stated  by  way  of  judgment,  but  simply  to  under- 
stand the  quite  natural  aversion  toward  schooling  on  the  day  of 
rest  on  the  part  of  children  and  youth  so  constantly  schooled 
throughout  the  week.  Church  school  is  distasteful  to  those  who 
are  wearied  with  school.  And  every  effort  to  add  another  sub- 
ject or  the  work  of  another  school  must  meet  some  resistance  both 
from  parents  and  from  children. 

2.  Changing  customs  as  to  Sunday.  Our  total  social  attitude 
has  changed.  The  custom  of  church-attendance  is  no  longer  uni- 
versal. Whereas  formerly  the  overwhelming  majority  once  ob- 
served the  Sabbath  in  almost  puritanic  fashion  to-day  that  major- 
ity is  on  the  other  side.     K  only  one  child  in  four  is  in  Sunday 

17 


18  THE  WEEK-DAY  CHURCH-SCHOOL 

school  it  is  also  true  tliat  fewer  than  one-fourth  of  the  adults 
are  in  church.  True,  there  are  in  the  South  rural  sections  where 
church-going  is  still  the  principal  social  interest  of  the  week; 
but  where  conditions  have  changed  with  the  introduction  of  new 
and  varied  interests  the  customs  of  church-attendance  have  also 
changed. 

3.  Changed  attitude  toward  the  church.  Children  live  in  fam- 
ilies where  the  church  is  not  always  taken  for  granted;  they  are 
in  a  society  in  which  the  church  no  longer  stands  out  as  the  cen- 
tral and  most  vital  institution. 

4.  The  character  of  the  church  school  as  an  institution.  This 
Sunday  school  will  hold  its  place  on  one  of  two  possible  gromids ; 
either  by  the  compulsion  of  social  and  religious  customs  and  tra- 
ditions, or  by  the  recognition  of  its  efficiency  and  value.  In  a 
majority  of  instances  the  first  of  these  grounds  is  no  longer  ef- 
fective; as  to  the  second  it  stands  constantly  in  unfavorable 
comparison  with  the  public  schools.  To  the  mind  of  youth  and 
to  the  general  public,  the  Sunday  school  represents  inefficiency 
as  compared  with  the  efficiencies  of  general  education;  it  usually 
lacks  any  building  of  its  own;  its  equipment  is  inadequate  and 
makeshift;  its  teachers  are  kindly-natured  amateurs;  its  curri- 
culum is  remote  from  reality;  its  program  is  too  fragmentary  to 
command  serious  attention. 

We  are  stating  not  the  complete  situation  but  only  those  aspects 
which  appear  to  youth  and  to'  persons  unfamiliar  with  the  genius 
of  church  schools.  This  is  true,  however:  that  the  church  has  not 
regarded  children  with  the  seriousness  with  which  the  state  regards 
them;  the  church  has  not  even  endeavored  to  provide  educational 
equipment,  workers  or  material  adequate  to  the  needs  of  children 
or  the  demands  of  our  social  life.  Children  and  the  public  only 
reflect  the  prevailing  opinion  of  the  church  that  the  religious 
education  of  the  yomig  is  a  negligible  affair.  This  is  the  principal 
cause  of  failure. 

5.  The  Church  school  fails  to  convince  this  age  of  the  need  and 
value  of  its  work.  Dependent  on  voluntary  attendance  it  does 
not  persuade  either  youth  or  adults  of  the  reality  and  importance 
of  its  purpose.  Largely  this  is  because  churches  are  not  con- 
scious of  such  reality  and  importance.  Religious  leaders  do  not 
understand  the  importance  of  children,  nor  do  they  rightly  value 
the  possibilities  in  their  religious  instruction,  nor  have  they  yet 
seriously  endeavored,  save  in  rare  exceptions,  to  make  the  school 
provide  specifically  and  directly  for  the  needs  of  childhood  and 
youth.     That  is  evident,  as  already  suggested,  in  the  fact  that 


THE  PRESENT  EMERGENCY  19 

the  physical  and  institutional  provision  is  not  determined  by  the 
needs  of  the  young.  The  simple  fact  is  that  only  here  and  there 
do  we  find  schools  which  are  conscious  of  definite  purpose,  follow- 
ing educational  principles,  and  able  to  give  convincing  reasons 
why  they  should  exist. 

6.  The  practical  difficulties  in  the  present  type  of  school.  The 
intensive  development  of  Sunday  schools  in  the  past  fifteen  years 
has  led  to  a  keener  appreciation  of  these  difficulties.     They  are: 

(1)  The  peak-load-at-a-single-hour  difficulty.  The  Sunday 
school  is  an  effort  to  concentrate  all  instruction  in  reli- 
gion into  a  single  short  period  on  the  day  of  rest.  Effi- 
ciency never  lies  that  way.  If  all  the  markets  and  stores 
and  shops  were  open  only  for  thirty  minutes  once  a 
week  unimaginable  confusion  and  economic  loss  would 
occur.  If  public  education  could  all  be  accomplished 
in  fifty  hours  per  annum  we  would  think  it  the  height 
of  folly  to  try  to  educate  all  the  children  at  precisely 
the  same  hour;  we  would  recognize  the  serious  wastes 
in  buildings,  equipment,  staff,  etc.  Yet  this  is  precisely 
the  plan  pursued  in  our  present  system  of  religious 
instruction.  The  one-period-a-week  plan  makes  it  either 
practically  impossible  or  largely  wasteful  to  have  proper 
physical  facilities  and  professionally  trained  instructors 
for  all. 

(2)  The  single  hour  a  week  affords  altogether  insufficient 
time  for  an  adequate  program  of  religious  instruction. 
As  the  curriculum  increasingly  becomes  one  of  training 
in  the  full  life  of  a  Christian  society  that  inadequacy 

^  becomes  clear  and  is  keenly  felt.  As  a  consequence  we 
have  a  large  number  of  unrelated  and  often  sporadic 
attempts  to  supply  this  deficiencv  through  various  other 
forms  of  religious  training  in  clubs  and  societies  for  the 
young.  The  result  is  that  to  them  religious  education 
is  a  fragmentary  affair  divided  between  the  Sunday 
school  and  sundry  other  activities. 

(3)  The  purposes  of  religious  education  cannot  possibly  be 
realized  in  a  serias  of  disconnected  lessons  occurring 
once  a  week.  Children  cannot  be  taught  anything,  save 
with  very  grave  difficulty  and  serious  drawbacks, 
through  lessons  separated  so  far  in  time  and  limited  so 
seriously  in  the  length  of  each  period.* 

*  On   this  point   see  an   article   on   "The   Psychology  of  the   Week-day 
School,"  E.  L.  Mudge,  in  "Religious  Education"  for  Dec,  1920. 


20  THE  WEEK-DAY  CHURCH-SCHOOL 

(4)   The  purposes  of  religious  education  cannot  be  realized 
by  any  program  that  is  confined  to  periods  of  instruc- 
tion.    Those  purposes  include  the  guidance  of  persons 
so  that  they  may  see  and  will  and  be  able  to  effect  the 
life  of  a  society  of  Christian  love.     That  can  be  done 
only  by  including  the  entire  range  of  their  powers,  only 
by  organizing  all  their  interests,  only  as  we  are  able  to 
guide  them  in  a  much  wider  range  of  experiences  than 
the  single  one  of  passively  listening  to  a  lesson.     All 
who,  realizing  the  wide  and  inclusive  social  purposes  of 
religious  education,  have  endeavored  to  follow  modern 
educational  methods  have  soon  found  them  impossible 
in  30-minutes-a-week-school. 
The  answer  to  our  first  question  is  simply  this :  the  public  does 
not  take  the  religious  education  of  children  seriously  because  the 
church  does  not  yet  take  it  seriously,  for  it  has  not  yet  provided 
an  efficient,  adequate  and  practicable -system. 

II.  WHY  DO  THE  PRESEInTT  SYSTEMS  AFFORD  CONTINUOUS  AND  EF- 
FECTIVB  RELIGIOUS  INSTRUCnON  TO  LESS  THAN  ONE-TENTH  OF 
THE    CHILDREN? 

This  question,  which  faces  our  second  conclusion,*  has  been 
answered  to  a  large  degree  under  the  first  question;  but  it  looks 
at  the  matter  from  closer  and  different  points  of  view.  It  is  con- 
cerned particularly  with  our  failure  regarding  a  large  number  of 
children  who  are  enrolled  in  and  attending  Sunday  schools.  It 
looks  at  our  failure  to  secure  results  with  the  children  we  have. 
They  come  from  these  schools  almost  as  ignorant  of  the  facts  of 
religion  as  are  those  who  do  not  attend.  What  are  the  causes  or 
reasons  for  this? 

1.  The  assumption  that  religious  knowledge  is  unimportant. 
Back  of  the  general  attitude  already  described  we  have  a  large 
weight  of  opinion  in  the  churches  that  intellectual  processes  have 
no  valuable  relations  to  the  religious  life.  One  still  frequently 
hears  of  an  alleged  opposition  between  "the  head"  and  "the 
heart";  education  is  derided  in  religious  circles;  and  many,  who 
on  their  own  hypothesis  have  profound  cause  for  gratitude,  thank 
God  that  they  are  ignorant.  Nor  are  these  only  the  envious 
vaporing  of  uneducated  laymen.  Many  ministers  show  either 
opposition  to  or  distrust  of  education.  Many  bitterly  criticise 
the  universities  as  "hot-beds  of  infidelity"  and  warn  their  people 

*  At  the  end  of  Chap.  I. 


THE  PRESENT  EMERGENCY  21 

against  science  and  scientific  knowledge.  Many  insist  that  reli- 
gious experience  is  wholly  a  matter  of  the  heart,  or  the  emotions, 
and  steadily  counsel  their  hearers  to  beware  of  the  delusions  of 
knowledge,  urging  that  spiritual  truth  is  never  intellectually  dis- 
cerned. In  the  churches  there  is  a  heavy  weight  of  opposition 
to  educational  processes  which  results  in  either  apathy  or  oppo- 
sition to  movements  for  religious  education. 

2.  The  Sunday  school  is  an  educational  institution  carried  on 
in  a  church  which  still  quite  largely  rejects  the  educational  method. 
The  church  often  continues  to  ignore  the  normal  way  of  Christian 
nurture  and  to  place  its  dependence  on  a  single,  catastrophic 
experience.  It  refuses  to  follow  the  ideal  of  Jesus  who  "grew 
in  wisdom  and  stature  and  in  favor  with  God  and  man"  and  sets 
up,  as  the  norm  of  experience  for  all,  the  exceptional  case  of 
PauFs  conversion.  What  place  has  a  Sunday  school  in  a  church 
that  does  not  believe  that  school  will  nurture  its  children  into  the 
religious  life? 

To  sum  up  these  two  points  in  answer  to  the  second  question : 
So  few  children  have  an  effective  experience  of  religious  education 
because  so  few  churches  really  believe  in  Christian  nurture. 

Realizing  that  these  statements  may  be  criticized  as  generaliza- 
tions let  specific  evidence  be  introduced.  If  we  were  to  select  the 
section  of  North  America  where  children  and  youth  in  the  largest 
numbers  were  closest  to  the  life  of  the  churches  we  would  cer- 
tainly award  that  merit  to  the  Dominion  of  Canada.  If  there 
we  were  to  select  the  communion  which  has  paid  and  still  pays 
most  attention  to  the  instruction  of  children  there  would  be  fairly 
general  agreement  that  it  would  be  the  Presbyterian.  Now,  sur- 
veys made  by  the  department  of  religious  education  of  the  Pres- 
byterian Church  in  Canada  show  the  following  facts: 

After  eliminating  all  overhead  expenditures  in  the  churches, 
such  as  for  pastors'  salaries,  janitors,  general  upkeep,  cost  of 
grounds,  etc.,  and  after  allowing  for  any  duplicate  use  of  plant  or 
of  equipment  the  relative  expenditures  were: 
For   every   $100.00   for   church   buildings — $4.00   for   Sunday-school 

buildings. 
For  every  $100.00  for  church  expenditures — $6.00  for  Sunday-school 

expenditures. 
For  every  $100.00  for  church  music — 4  cents  for  Sunday-school  music. 

Money  is  not  the  only  measure,  but  it  is  an  acid  test.  We  use 
the  same  test  as  to  missions.  Such  figures  are  significant  because 
they  are  relative;  they  reveal  proportions  of  emphasis  and  of 
effort. 


22  THE  WEEK-DAY  CHURCH-SCHOOL 

"If  it  is  true  that  the  Sunday  school  fails  because  the  churches 
fail  to  use  the  method  of  Christian  nurture,  does  not  the  remedy 
lie  in  improving  the  school  rather  than  in  organizing  week-day 
instruction?"  But  we  have  not  said  that  the  Sunday  school  has 
failed,  only  that  it  has  failed  to  accomplish  a  task  too  large  for 
itself,  too  great  for  amateur,  intermittent  effort,  and  beyond  its 
resources  in  time  and  ability. 

The  Sunday  school  has  not  failed  for  lack  of  effort  or  of  ear- 
nestness or  of  investment  on  the  part  of  its  workers,  its  whole 
record  has  been  one  of  remarkable  application,  sacrifice  and  un- 
selfish devotion  accompanied  by  growing  intelligence.  In  so  far 
as  it  has  failed  to  measure  up  to  its  possibilities  this  has  been 
because  it  has  been  treated  as  a  minor  incident  in  the  churches. 
It  has  wonderfully  succeeded  to  this  extent:  it  has  sufficiently 
demonstrated  both  the  duty  and  the  difficulties  of  religious  edu- 
cation to  make  it  evident  that  these  call  for  a  much  larger  pro- 
gram lying  beyond  the  time  limits  and  the  personal  limitations 
of  Sunday  schools. 

III.  THE  RECENT  DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE  EFFICIENCIES  OF  THE 
MODERN  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  HAS  DISCOVIKED  ITS  ESSENTIAL 
DEFICIENCIES 

Graded  schools,  curricula  psychologically  determined,  trained 
teachers,  the  application  of  educational  principles  in  organization 
and  teaching,  and  the  use  and  development  of  the  child's  interest 
in  every  range  of  his  life,  all  these  have  revolutionized  the  Sunday 
school;  they  are  rapidly  converting  it  into  an  educational  insti- 
tution. 

1.  The  institution  has  been  developed  educationally  so  that  it 
calls  for  highly  expert  leadership.  The  school  has  won  for  itself 
the  serious  consideration  of  leaders  in  religion  and  in  education. 
Educational  specialists  have  recognized  the  importance  of  relig- 
ious education  and  have  put  themselves  to  the  solution  of  its 
problems.  A  new  literature  has  been  created  dealing  with  meth- 
ods in  the  church  school.  A  large  body  of  workers  guided  by 
educational  principles  is  now  enrolled  in  the  work  of  the  school. 
A  new  profession  has  been  created,  that  of  "Directors  of  Religious 
Education  in  Churches,"  and  many  educational  institutions  are 
training  these  directors. 

2.  The  curriculum  has  been  developed  so  that  it  calls  for  spe- 
cialised knowledge  on  the  part  of  teachers  in  this  school.  A  new 
literature  has  been  created  dealing  with  the  materials  of  study. 


THE  PRESENT  EMERGENCY  23 

There  are  now  available  literally  hundreds  of  good  text  books 
in  which  are  found  the  work  of  highly-trained  specialists  in  the 
Bible,  in  religion  and  in  the  problems  of  child-life. 

3.  A  new  concept  of  the  work  of  the  school  has  been  created. 
Educational  organizations  have  stood  back  of  this  work,  educating 
the  public  mind,  promoting  improvements,  creating  standards 
and  proclaiming  ideals  until  now  the  fuller  meaning  and  magni- 
tude of  the  task  attempted  by  the  school  stands  revealed.  The 
effort  to  improve  the  Sunday  school  led  to  the  popularization  of 
the  phrase  "Religious  Education,"  so  that  the  school  has  come 
to  accept  the  task  of  religious  education  and  to  adopt  the  edu- 
cational method  for  that  task.  What  this  means  appears  when 
we  realize  that  this  task  of  religious  education  involves  not  less 
than  that  of  securing  a  Christian  social  order  through  the  ideals 
and  wills  of  the  young  to-day.  The  task  of  the  church  school  is 
to  guide  children  and  young  people  so  that  they  will  see  and  will 
and  effect  a  human  society  of  Christian  race. 

Yet  one  other  cause  of  the  failure  of  the  present  system  must 
be  briefly  stated,  the  tendency  to  think  of  child  welfare  in  broad 
community  terms.  The  public  school  has  trained  us  to  do  this. 
Many  forms  of  social  cooperation,  as  in  recreational  movements 
and  the  social  betterment  of  child,  have  deepened  the  habit 
through  happy  and  successful  experience.  As  a  whole  the  public 
mind  will  reject  any  program  which  approaches  the  child  in  a 
divisive  or  sectarian  spirit.  We  desire  that  all  our  children  shall 
learn  to  live  together  and  to  find  their  richest  experiences  on  a 
common  level.  Every  church  will  discover  hesitation  as  the  part 
of  its  own  people  lest  their  children  become  sectarians.  Every 
church  quite  properly  will  desire  that  children  shall  come  fully 
into  its  fellowship  and  will  train  them  for  full  life  and  source  in 
its  group,  but  the  particular  training  for  this  end  cannot  compre- 
hend the  whole  of  religious  education  since  that  must  include 
training  in  the  life  of  a  whole  and  united  Christian  society. 

IV.      WHAT,   THEN,   IS    NOW    NEEDED? 

Needs.  Facing  such  a  task,  in  the  light  of  such  principles  and 
in  the  light  of  experience  it  becomes  evident : 

(1)  That  the  necessary  program  of  religious  instruction  de- 
mands much  more  time  than  can  possibly  be  secured  on 
Sunday. 

(2)  That  this  program  must  have  a  more  expert  administra- 
tion, and  a  higher  degree  of  specialized  efficiency  than 
can  be  expected  of  volunteers,  amateurs  and  laymen. 


24  THE  WEEK-DAY  CHURCH-SCHOOL 

(3)  That  it  requires  equipment  and  facilities  desired  specific 
cally  for  educational  purposes. 

Summarizing  the  causes  of  the  movement  for  week-day  instruc- 
tion in  religion  we  find  them  in  the  recognition  of  the  following 
basic  needs: 

(1)  The  imperative  need  of  adequate  religious  instruction  if  we 
are  to  have  a  religiously  minded  society. 

(2)  Plans  to  bring  under  religious  instruction  the  now  un-instructed 
child  population. 

(3)  Plans  which  permit  of  more  time  for  instruction. 

(4)  Plans  which  permit  more  children  for  more  hours  per  week  to 
be  under  fully  competent  teachers. 

(5)  Plans  which  make  possible  the  provision  of  specifically  designed 
educational  buildings  and  facilities. 

(6)  Plans  which  will  economize  effort  through  church  cooperation 
and  afford  children  an  experience  of  a  common  religious  life. 


CHAPTER  III 

WHY  WEEK-DAY  SCHOOLS! 

When  all  that  is  involved  in  a  program  of  week-day  religious 
instruction  is  fully  understood  there  will  be  many  to  ask  one 
serious  question.    Why? 

The  present  agitation  for  week-day  instruction  means  nothing 
less  than  the  ultimate  establishment  of  a  new  system  of  schools 
parallel  to  the  public  schools.  It  is  well  to  foresee,  as  far  as 
possible,  the  entire  significance  of  this  movement.  It  would  be 
a  mistake  to  suppose  that  such  widespread  planning  and  agita- 
tion are  directed  to  nothing  better  than  that  Sunday-school  teach- 
ers may  add  a  week-day  session  to  their  present  labors,  or  that 
children  may  meet  during  the  week  in  order  to  listen  to  their  pas- 
tors. Both  these  ends  are  quite  desirable,  as  a  rule,  but  they  fall 
short  of  meeting  the  current  pressing  need.  Such  efforts  cannot 
secure  a  worthy  or  adequate  program  of  religious  instruction. 
The  week-day  plans  are  much  more  serious,  with  purposes  reach- 
ing farther  and  involving  greater  investments  of  persons  and  of 
money. 

A  system  of  week-day  religious  instruction  involves  educational 
mechanisms,  staff,  curriculum,  and  supervision  as  definitely  organ- 
ized, as  expertly  chosen  and  directed,  and  as  permanent  at  least 
as  those  of  the  public-school  system,  the  differences  lying  not  in 
quality  or  standards  of  work,  but  in  the  quantity  or  extent.  It 
does  not  involve  as  large  buildings  nor  as  many  professional  work- 
ers nor  as  great  expense  as  in  public  education.  It  does  mean 
equal  educational  efficiencies  and  not  less  in  character,  definiteness 
or  abilities. 

Perhaps,  almost  inevitably,  after  week-day  schools  have  been 
started  there  will  come  a  reaction.  People  have  not  been  accus- 
tomed to  paying  money  for  the  religious  instruction  of  children; 
that  has  been  supported,  usually,  by  the  pennies  of  the  children 
themselves.  When  the  larger  program  calls  for  the  salaries  of 
expert  teachers  and  a  supervisor,  the  purchase  of  books  and  sup- 
plies, the  upkeep  of  buildings  and  practically  all  the  items — 
though  less  in  totals — that  are  found  in  the  public-school  budget, 

25 


26  THE  WEEK-DAY  CHURCH-SCHOOL 

then  they  will  begin  to  wonder  whether  this  might  not  just  as 
well  be  done  by  that  will-of -the- wisp,  consecrated,  voluntary  effort, 
which  is  only  another  way  of  saying,  "Let  some  one  else  do  it  for 
nothing  instead  of  asking  us  to  pay  the  bills." 

Then,  or,  better  still,  before  we  begin  these  enterprises,  is  the 
time  to  look  so  definitely  at  them  as  to  meet  such  objections  and 
to  set  these  specious  suggestions  in  the  light  of  facts.  It  will 
help  to  answer  that  recurrent  WHY  if  we  first  state,  as  definitely 
as  possible,  the  purposes  of  the  week-day  school. 

I.      ADEQUATE  PURPOSES 

A.  The  Immediate  Purposes. 

1.  The  week-day  school  of  religion  is  designed  to  give 
every  child  several  hours,  or  periods,  of  instruction 
in  religion  every  week. 

2.  The  week-day  school  of  religion  is  designed  to  set  in- 
struction in  religion  on  the  same  plane  of  educational 
efficiency  as  children  find  in  the  public  school  or  any 
other  school. 

3.  The  week-day  school  of  religion  is  designed  to  make 
the  subject  and  the  fact  of  religion  an  integral  part 
of  the  total  educational  experience  of  childhood,  co- 
ordinate with  all  other  parts  of  that  experience. 

4.  The  week-day  school  of  religion  is  designed  to  carry 
on  for  children  that  part  of  their  education  which  lies 
beyond  the  province  and  the  power  of  the  public  school. 
It  is  the  deliberate  and  cooperative  attempt  of  churches 
to  make  up  for  that  short-measure  character  of  edu- 
cation inevitable  in  a  definitely  secular  system. 

5.  The  system  of  week-day  schools  is  designed  to  secure 
adequate  facilities  and  expert  services  on  a  basis  of 
greater  efficiency  and  economy  by  arranging  time- 
programs  which  spread  their  use  and  their  work 
through  all  the  week. 

6.  The  system  of  week-day  schools  is  designed  to  secure 
community  cooperation  in  the  provision  and  use  of  de- 
signed buildings  and  facilities  and  specially  trained 
workers. 

B.  Ultimate  Purposes. 

1.  The  week-day  school  of  religion  is  designed  as  the 
means  by  which  the  churches  will  carry  out,  largely 
through  instruction,  the  fundamentally  important  part 


WHY  WEEK-DAY  SCHOOLS?  27 

of  their  task  of  the  training  of  the  young  for  the  life 
of  a  religious  society. 
2.  The  week-day  school  of  religion  is  designed  by  the 
churches  to  prepare  the  next  generation  with  those 
motives  and  ideals  and  habits  which  will  help  that  gen- 
eration to  will  and  effect  a  better  world,  one  more  con- 
formable to  the  Christian  ideal,  a  society  of  lovingj 
cooperating  good  will. 

One  might  summarize  all  these  purposes  by  saying  that  this 
school  is  designed  to  solve  the  problems  presented  by  the  present 
failure  of  the  Sunday  school,  due  to  a  task  developing  beyond 
the  capacities  and  possibilities  of  that  institution.  Week-day 
instructions  represents  an  awakening  church,  aroused  to  appre- 
ciate that  the  child  is  the  world  of  to-morrow  and  that  we  have 
an  immediate  pressing  and  never  recurring  responsibility  and 
opportunity  to  train  that  society  to  religious  living. 

II.      ENLARGING  PURPOSES 

We  have  these  week-day  schools  of  religion  because  thoughtful 
persons  in  large  numbers  have  come  to  realize  that  certain  duties 
which  once  were  commonly  recognized  in  a  Christian  society  have 
been,  in  the  rapidly  developing  pressure  of  our  total  social  life, 
crowded  to  one  side  and  almost  forgotten.  Teaching  religion  to 
children  once  was  the  duty  of  every  family,  the  task  of  every 
school  and  of  every  church.  Here  were  duties  once  as  clearly 
recognized  as  any  others.  To-day  the  family  has  lost  conscious- 
ness of  responsibility  for  them;  the  church  has  nearly  forgotten 
them;  the  public  school  has  relinquished  them.  Duties,  essential 
to  social  well-living,  now  have  no  place  in  our  social  programs. 
The  teaching  of  religion  has  been  lost  in  the  process  of  social 
development,  and  especially  in  the  development  of  a  civilization 
of  materialism.  Is  it  necessary  to  make  special  provision  for  its 
reinstatement?  We  shall  try  to  state,  in  progressive  order  of 
importance,  the  reasonable  background  of  schools  of  religion. 

1.  Religious  knowledge  is  a  part  of  every  child's  rightful  heri- 
tage. Each  child  has  as  clear  a  right  to  a  knowledge  of  religion  as 
he  has  to  any  other  part  of  his  intellectual  and  spiritual  heritage. 
It  is  the  recognized  duty  of  society  to  insure  to  every  incoming 
member  opportunity  to  enter  into  his  full  heritage  of  the  woi-ld 
of  thought  and  knowledge.  Each  new  generation  receives  from 
the  past,  adds  to  that  wealth  and  should  pass  it  on  to  the  future. 


28  THE  WEEK-DAY  CHURCH-SCHOOL 

Schools  of  all  kinds  are  the  principal  form  of  social  machinery 
designed  to  accomplish  this.*  It  is  therefore  the  duty  of  society 
to  provide  that  in  its  completeness  all  that  is  of  permanent  value 
in  this  heritage  of  the  past  should  come  into  the  possession  of 
the  new  generation.  Certainly  religious  knowledge  is  included 
in  this  responsibility. 

2.  Schooling  is  an  essential  means  by  which  childhood  learns 
the  religious  way  of  life.  It  is  not  the  only  means;  there  are 
many  others:  family  life;  social  intercourse;  play  and  work; 
literature  and  art.  But  schooling  is  the  essential  element  because 
it  is  the  definite  means  by  which  all  the  other  and  general  experi- 
ence is  organized  and  interpreted.  Formal  education  tends  to 
give  meaning  to  all  informal  education.  Schooling  is  the  process 
by  which  the  whole  of  experience  gains  specific  meaning  for  life. 
Now,  if  religion  be  totally  absent  from  the  schooling  of  children, 
they  are  likely  to  assume  that  it  has  no  important  place  in  life. 
The  fact  that  society  neglects  this  leads  to  the  assumption  that 
it  is  negligible.  If  the  young  judge  life  from  their  experience  of 
it,  there  is  no  reason  to  be  surprised  that  they  conclude  that  we 
adults  do  not  esteem  religion  as  definitely  of  any  importance 
since  we  do  not  include  it  with  the  other  elements  of  knowledge 
which  we  insist  they  shall  acquire. 

3.  Religious  instruction  is  the  peculiar  responsibility  of  reli- 
gious agencies.  Under  the  system  of  government  in  the  United 
States  the  state  assumes  no  responsibility  for  the  content  of  reli- 
gious instruction.  The  state  can  make  no  specific  provision  to 
ensure  to  children  their  heritage  of  knowledge  of  religion.  That 
is  because  the  content  and  character  of  this  knowledge  is  recog- 
nized to  be  a  "matter  of  conscience";  because  it  is  impossible  to 
teach  religion  without  teaching  a  particular  kind  of  religion. 
The  state  refuses  to  particularize  in  religion.  It  will  in  no  way, 
either  positively  or  negatively,  either  by  provision  or  prohibition, 
interfere  with  freedom  of  conscience.  The  separation  of  church 
and  state  has  resulted  in  the  separation  of  religious  knowledge 
from  general  knowledge.  This  is  a  very  essential  and  vital  part 
of  our  theory  of  freedom  in  the  state,  one  in  which  every  lover  of 
truth  and  religion  ought  to  rejoice  because  it  forever  renders  im- 
possible the  suppression  of  truth;  it  prevents  oppression  by  any 
majority  in  secular  power  and  it  is  the  basis  of  our  whole  life 
of  freedom. 

*  This  argument,  and  those  that  follow  in  this  chapter,  are  developed 
in  greater  fullness  by  the  author  in  his  recent  book,  "Education  for 
Democracy"    (Macmillan's), 


WHY  WEEK-DAY  SCHOOLS?  29 

This  theory  applied  results  in  a  definite  situation :  Public  edu- 
cation is  curtailed  as  to  its  curriculum.  It  is  forced  to  omit  an 
essential  subject.  Public  education  in  the  United  States  is  thor- 
oughly secularized.* 

Now  this  does  not  involve  secularization  in  any  reprehensible 
sense;  it  need  not  and  ought  not  to  mean  that  public  education 
is  destructive  of  spiritual  idealism.  School  people  do  not  have  to 
be  materialists.  The  fact  that  the  school  cannot  teach  religion 
does  not  set  it  in  opposition  to  religion.  So  far  as  the  theory 
of  freedom  is  concerned  it  only  means  that  religion  as  a  definite 
subject  of  study  is  excluded  from  the  curriculum  of  public  schools. 

But  it  must  be  evident  to  any  one  that  a  system  of  education 
that  omits  religion  in  its  training  for  life  tends  to  train  for  life 
that  omits  religion.  But  this  is  only  the  negative  side;  the 
churches  must  teach  religion,  not  only  because  the  schools  must 
not  but  because  they  cannot.  Only  a  religious  agency  can  engage 
in  religious  education.  No  other  social  agency,  as  conditions  now 
are,  either  will  or  can  discharge  this  responsibility. 

4.  Our  present  practice  robs  children  of  their  most  normal  ap- 
proach to  religion.  Notice  this  fact :  If  the  public  school  is  the 
child's  most  definite  social  experience,  and  if  religion  is  excluded 
from  that  experience  it  is  excluded  from  the  great,  normal  realities 
of  life  for  children.  So  long  as  the  school  is  their  only  effective 
educational  aq-eney,  and  that  agency  excludes  religion,  the  effect 
is  the  secularization  of  childhood's  point  of  view ;  the  schools  train 
a  secular  citizenship. 

The  puhlic  school  cannot  teach,  religion;  no  other  agency  is 
teaching  religion  to  the  childhood  of  the  United  States;  that 
childhood  grows  into  a  non-religious  view  of  life. 

Since  the  religious  element  must  be  integral  in  a  child's  school- 
ing, and  since  the  state  cannot  furnish  this  element,  it  becomes 
the  duty  of  society  to  provide  schooling  in  which  the  teaching  of 
religion  has  a  definite  place,  and  to  do  this  independently  of  the 
state. 

In  some  way  then  religion  must  have  a  place  found  for  it  in 
the  lives  of  children.     How  can  this  be  done? 

5.  Religion  can  he  taught.  That  sounds  like  a  broad  assertion; 
and  it  must  be  taken  quite  broadly  and  interpreted  generously.f 

*  See  "The  Secularization  of  Public  Education  in  the  United  States," 
by  S.  W.  Brown   (Teachers'  College),  an  historical  study  and  survey. 

t  Doubtless  some  will  bo  inclined  to  remind  us  of  the  Aristotelian 
controversy ;  but  by  "taught"  we  mean,  at  least  in  this  connection,  the 
processes  which  the  school  is  able  to  use  as  an  educational  agency. 


30  THE  WEEK-DAY  CHURCH-SCHOOL 

This  point  has  in  mind  particularly  that  aspect  of  the  interrog- 
ative WHY  which  asks  whether  it  makes  any  difference,  after  all, 
whether  children  are  informed  on  the  history  of  religion,  on  its 
doctrines  and  literature.  These  objectors  would  suggest  that  the 
principal  thing  is  to  get  the  spirit  and  ideals  of  religion  in  life 
and  conduct.  To  this  we  would  emphatically  agree;  but  we  ask: 
If  you  wished  to  get  the  spirit  and  ideals  of  Anglo-Saxon  civiliza- 
tion in  life  and  conduct  would  you  not  consider  it  a  valuable  and 
essential  step  to  secure  at  least  a  fair  degree  of  familiarity  with 
the  development  of  those  ideals  in  history  and  their  expression 
in  English  literature  f 

Why  is  schooling  important  in  the  development  of  religious 
character  and  the  formation  of  a  religious  society?  That  is  a 
question  too  large  to  be  answered,  even  in  outline,  here.*  But  a 
few  points  may  be  suggested :  Schooling  is  the  organization  and 
direction  of  the  social  experience  of  children;  religion  is  a  way 
of  social  living  which,  for  each  individual,  is  determined  by  ideals, 
by  concepts  of  the  meaning  and  values  of  life;t  our  ideals  and 
concepts  are  formed  in  social  experience.  In  part  schooling  is 
the  specific  direction  of  intellectual  experiences  socially  realized; 
religious  ideals  are  intellectually  apprehended.  The  founder  of 
Christianity  has  always  been  called  its  great  Teacher;  he  began 
by  teaching;  he  trained  teachers;  the  records  of  his  life  are  full 
of  his  teachings;  his  followers  taught;  the  early  churches  were 
teaching  institutions;  the  apostles  and  missionaries  have  always 
been  teachers;  the  school  of  the  church,  even  the  inefficient 
Sunday  school,  has  been  the  most  effective  recruiting  agency  for 
the  churches,  and  the  pulpit  and  press  have,  as  teaching  instru- 
ments, been  the  means  of  making  religion  effective  in  the  lives 
of  men. 

In  the  broad  sense  teaching  is  our  principal  hope.  It  is  the 
normal  method  with  the  young.  Religious  education  simply 
means  the  organization  of  the  means  by  which  developing  lives 
may  be  guided,  stimulated  and  trained  so  that  they  may  both  see 
and  know,  may  passionately  desire  and  will,  and  may  actively 
effect  the  life  of  spiritual  persons  and  the  order  of  a  spiritual 
society.     This  is  what  religious  schools  mean,  that  we  make  spe- 

*  Perhaps  the  most  satisfactory  answer  of  noodern  times  will  be  found 
in  "A  Social  Theory  of  Religious  Education,"  by  Prof.  George  A.  Coe 
(Scribner's.) 

t  This  is  taking  an  ultimate  view  of  religion  ;  it  is  not  Intended  as  a 
definition  ;  it  might  be  termed  a  comprehensive  description  ;  the  practical 
aim  of  religious  teaching  is  that  persons  shall  live  according  to  religious 
ideals. 


WHY  WEEK-DAY  SCHOOLS?  31 

cific  provision,  in  our  organization  of  life  for  the  young,  of  the 
best  means  by  which  this  end  shall  be  effected. 

6.  Religious  training  is  absolutely  essential  to  the  continuance 
and  future  growth  of  our  human  civilization*  We  and  our  chil- 
dren in  an  increasing  degree  will  have  to  live  in  a  world  closely 
integrated,  a  world  where  there  will  be  just  two  possible  ways  of 
living:  either  we  shall  go  in  our  old  ways,  each  following  his  own 
desires,  seeking  his  own  ends,  governed  by  the  passions  of  avarice, 
controlled  by  the  philosophy  of  self-interest,  or  we  may  take  the 
other  course  of  living  for  social  ends — instead  of  selfish  ones;  of 
cooperation — instead  of  competition;  of  unselfish  devotion,  in 
love  and  good  will,  to  the  common  good — as  opposed  to  the  individ- 
ual good  predicated  on  gain  at  the  cost  of  loss  to  others.  The 
first  is  the  old,  secular,  anti-religious  way;  the  second  is  the  reli- 
gious way  that  Jesus  taught. 

Life  is  unthinkable,  in  imagination  it  is  intolerable  in  the  fu- 
ture, imless  it  be  the  life  of  a  society  controlled  by  religious  mo- 
tives. There  is  no  hope  for  peace  in  our  world — either  between 
nations,  classes  or  interests — until  we  have  substituted  for  the 
motives  of  self-interest  that  threw  the  world  into  war  the  motives 
of  social  living  which  Jesus  taught,  until  we  move  the  center  of 
lives  from  self  to  society,  from  avarice  to  service,  from  lust  to 
love.  The  religious  way  is  the  only  way  under  which  the  world 
of  to-morrow  can  even  exist.  Under  any  other  motives,  what 
will  it  be  but  the  shambles  of  unrestrained  lusts,  warring  passions, 
and  competitive  battles,  with  the  last  word  in  science  turned  to 
the  service  of  the  deepest,  darkest  passions  of  men?  And  to 
turn  the  hearts  of  men  from  the  motives  of  the  world  of  things 
to  the  motives  of  the  kingdom  of  the  spirit,  we  are  counting  on 
this  single  institution.  We  can  hope  to  form  the  next  generation 
only  as  we  reach  the  children :  they  are  to-morrow.  We  may 
have  many  conversions  of  adults  in  the  churches;  but  unless  we 
prepare  these  boys  and  girls,  these  who  are  the  world  of  to- 
morrow, we  have  no  prospect  of  a  better  social  order. 


SUMMARY 

To  summarize  our  answer  to  the  question.  Why  have  schools 
to  teach  religion? 

Unless  religion  is  taught  we  shall  not  have  a  religiously-minded 

*  The  argument,  very  briefly  and  but  partially  stated  here,  is  developed 
at  some  length  in  the  author's  "Education  for  Democracy"   (Macmillan's). 


32  THE  WEEK-DAY  CHURCH-SCHOOL 

society,  and  any  other  sort  of  society  is  impossible  in  the  future; 
this  is  the  world's  one  great  need. 

Unless  specific  provision  is  made  religion  will  not  be  taught. 

Unless  that  provision  is  made  by  the  religious  agencies,  the 
churches,  it  will  not  be  made  by  any  other;  no  other  is  teaching 
or  can  teach  religion. 

The  present  provision  of  the  churches  for  teaching  religion  is 
totally  inadequate;  at  present  it  reaches  only  a  small  fraction  of 
to-morrow's  citizenship,  and,  at  best,  it  touches  but  the  fringes 
of  each  person's  need.  Under  current  conditions  an  adequate 
provision  is  impossible  on  the  day  of  rest. 

It  is,  therefore,  the  immediate  duty  of  the  churches,  in  simple 
loyalty  to  their  constant  prayer  for  the  kingdom  of  God,  to  begin 
to  furnish  whatever  is  necessary  for  the  teaching  of  the  religious 
life  to  all  the  children  of  to-day. 


CHAPTER  IV 
THE  CHURCHES  IN  WEEK-DAY  WORK 

Those  who  regard  the  plan  of  week-day  schools  of  religion  as 
an  untried  novelty  need  to  consider  two  facts:  First,  that  the 
regular  daily  instruction  of  children  was  for  long  periods  of  time 
one  of  the  principal  and  constant  activities  of  the  church,  and, 
Second,  that,  in  modern  times,  the  churches  have  gradually  de- 
veloped a  remarkable  diversity  of  programs  and  organizations 
which  occupy  parts  of  the  week-day  time  of  children. 

The  first  consideration  ought  never  to  be  overlooked.  The  early 
church  was  a  teaching  church.  The  influence  of  synagogue  schools 
was  carried  over  into  Christian  teaching,  and  indeed  the  schools 
themselves  were  used  by  the  early  Christians.  Origen  gathered 
children  from  all  parts  of  a  city  and  organized  them  into  classes 
for  instruction.  Schools  for  children  grew  up  in  almost  every 
city,  and  to  them  we  must  trace  one  of  the  great  roots  of  elemen- 
tary general  education.  So  general  were  these  schools  and  so 
influential  that  the  Emperor  Julian  issued  an  edict  transferring 
education  from  the  Christian  to  the  Roman  state. 

When,  following  paralysis  and  decay,  the  church  took  on  new 
life  we  again  see  her  teaching  children.  All  that  we  know  of  the 
inner  activity  of  churches  in  the  religious  renaissance  in  Europe 
show  them  gathering  the  children  and  carrying  forward  their 
education.  The  tiny  flame  that  maintained  the  light  of  learning 
through  the  dark  ages  burned  where  wandering  missionaries  and 
resident  pastors  or  priests  gathered  children  for  instruction.  The 
Middle  Ages  are  rich  with  pictures  of  schools  maintained  con- 
tinuously by  monasteries  and  parish  churches.  The  education  of 
the  young  was  the  function  of  the  church.  Space  forbids  any 
historical  review,  but  even  a  glance  backward  gives  rise  to  the 
question.  When  and  how  did  the  church-school  become  a  Sunday 
institution?  Leaving  the  tempting  paths  of  the  past  we  can  find 
sufficient  evidence  in  modern  instances  that  it  is  possible,  even  in 
our  current,  congested  life,  to  extend  religious  instruction  into 
the  week. 

33 


34  THE  WEEK-DAY  CHURCH-SCHOOL 


FAMILIAR  EXAMPLES 

1  Confirmation  classes.  In  Anglican,  Episcopal,  Lutheran  and 
other  churches  as  a  regular  institution,  and  becoming  common  in 
many  others.  The  pastors,  or  appointed  officers,  instruct  those 
who  are  to  be  confirmed,  or  admitted  to  the  church.  Classes  are 
held  once  a  week,  sometimes  more  frequently,  usually  in  the  late 
afternoon.  The  creed  of  the  church,  or  a  special  course  regarding 
its  doctrines  and  the  duties  of  church-membership  usually  consti- 
tutes the  material  of  study.  Both  the  catechetical  method  and 
lectures  or  addresses  are  used.  In  the  greater  number  the  course 
of  training  occupies  from  one  to  three  months  and  takes  place  in 
the  period  before  Easter.  In  the  spring  of  1919  there  were 
approximately  3500  children  in  confirmation  classes  in  Episcopal 
churches  in  New  York  City. 

2.  Catechetical  classes.  Not  necessarily  confined  to  those  about 
to  join  the  church  but  using  similar  material  and  methods  to 
enable  children  to  memorize  the  catechism  and  the  creed  of  a 
church  communion. 

3.  Rehearsals.  In  each  Spring  practically  all  churches  gather 
children  to  rehearse  for  Easter,  Children's  Day,  a  festival,  a 
pageant  or  dramatics.  Often  large  numbers  come  for  several 
periods  in  a  week.  These  are,  though  the  fact  is  not  often  rec- 
ognized, definitely  effective  periods  of  religious  training.  It  is 
worth  noting  that  it  is  not  difficult  to  secure  attendance  and  that 
children  really  enjoy  these  occasions. 

4.  King's  Daughters  circle  meetings  may  be  cited  as  an  ex- 
ample of  many  similar  week-day  group-meetings  of  girls.  They 
gather  to  work  for  others,  and  during  the  sewing,  or  whatever  the 
work  may  be,  some  one  reads  a  story,  a  psalm  or  some  other  form 
of  religious  literature.  The  activities  in  which  they  engage,  being 
under  their  own  organization  and  direction,  form  an  excellent  type 
of  religious  training. 

5.  Young  People's  Societies.  Some  meet  during  the  week  and 
a  few  are  composed  largely  of  persons  of  high-school  age.  The 
program  consists  of  the  familiar  devotional  exercises  with  a 
marked  tendency,  on  the  part  of  week-day  meetings,  to  the  more 
definite  study  or  following  of  some  course  of  study,  and  to  the 
organization  of  forms  of  social  activities. 

6.  Mission  Bands.  Groups  of  children  are  led  in  the  study  of 
the  missionary  enterprise  and  in  work  for  children  on  mission 
fields. 


THE  CHURCHES  IN  WEEK-DAY  WORK       35 

7.  Canadian  Standard  Efficiency  programs*  organize  boys  and 
girls  in  two  groups  each,  from  the  ages  11-14  and  15-18,  for  at 
least  one  meeting  in  the  week  at  which  biblical  and  other  religious 
instruction  is  given.  This  is  frequently  coordinated  to  the  Sunday 
instruction  which  is  given  the  same  groups  in  their  classes.  This 
form  of  class  organization  is  also  used  in  the  United  States. 

8.  Comrades,  Pioneers,]  etc.  The  plan  of  the  Y.  M.  C.  A. 
corresponding,  in  the  United  States,  to  the  Canadian  method. 

9.  Boy  Seouts.X  Occasionally,  perhaps  rarely,  scout  troops 
voluntarily  organize  for  religious  instruction  at  their  week-day 
gatherings. 

10.  Girl  Scouts.  Similar  to  the  above.  (Also  Camp  Fire 
Girls.) 

11.  Y.  M.  C.  A,  Classes  are  held  in  the  Boys'  departments;  in 
some  Associations  they  enroll  large  numbers  who  follow  brief 
biblical  courses  or  studies  in  "life  problems."  Besides  the  classes 
held  in  the  Association  buildings  a  very  large  number  of  groups 
have  been  organized  in  the  high  schools  for  biblical  study,  and 
similar  classes  are  conducted  for  boys  of  the  seventh  and  eighth 
elementary  grades. 

12.  Y.  W.  C.  A.  An  important  and  carefully  planned  work 
for  girls  in  week-day  classes  is  rapidly  developing,  including 
classes  for  school  girls. 

13.  Societies,  Guilds,  etc.  How  many  are  there?  Boys' 
Brigades,  Knights  of  King  Arthur,  Ladies  of  Avalon,  World-Wide 
Guild.  Every  pastor  knows  the  sense  of  perplexity  as  he  is  urged 
to  organize  one  after  another.  And  yet  each  in  its  turn  gathers 
and  associates  children  and  gives  them  some  forms  of  instruction 
and  training. 

14.  Clubs.  Every  modern  church  has  an  ever-changing  variety 
of  groupings  of  children  and  youth  around  their  special  interests ; 
photographs,  stamps,  art-craft,  nature-study ;  every  new  hobby  has 
its  nucleating  force,  and  every  group  thinking  and  working  to- 
gether has  the  possibilities  for  religious  training  in  that  very 
experience. 

15.  Pastor's  Classes.  Almost  every  pastor  has  at  some  time 
gathered  school  children  for  special  purposes  of  instruction  during 

*  Promoted  by  the  Canadian  Council  of  Religious  Education,  a  co- 
operative organization  of  the  Church  Boards  of  Religious  Education,  the 
Canadian  Y.  Rf.  C.  A.  and  the  Y.  W.  C.  A. 

t  For  particulars  inquire  International  Committee  Y.  M.  C.  A.,  347 
Madison  Avenue,  New  York. 

t  Headquarters :  Boy  Scouts  of  America,  200  Fifth  Avenue,  New  York. 


36  THE  WEEK-DAY  CHURCH-SCHOOL 

the  week.  One  who  maintained  such  classes  for  ten  years  testifies 
to  the  surprising  willingness  with  which  large  numbers  of  children 
attended. 

Why  enumerate  these  familiar  forms  f  Simply  to  remind  our- 
selves that  week-day  instruction  is  no  novel  or  untried  experiment; 
that  it  has  been  tried  and  successfully  maintained  in  so  many 
different  forms  that  its  feasibility  already  has  been  thoroughly 
demonstrated;  that  almost  every  objection  and  difficulty  already 
has  been  met  in  the  actual  work  of  churches  that  had  no  con- 
sciousness of  plans  of  week-day  instruction.  A  survey  of  the  very 
familiar  forms  suggests  that  if  they  could  now  be  made  common, 
coordinated  one  to  another  and  directed  upon  sound  educational 
principles,  with  suitable  curricula,  we  would  have  a  fully  adequate 
system  of  week-day  religious  instruction. 

THEIR  INADEQUACY 

Why,  then,  seek  change?  Why  not  take  these  various  forms 
and  develop  them? 

1.  Because  many,  or  most,  of  the  plans  have  been  conceived 
without  consciousness  of  relationship  and  they  have  become 
habituated  to  their  independence.  Catechetical  classes  sometimes 
have  no  relation  to  the  church-school  curriculum.  Mission  bands 
pursue  their  way  guided  by  missionary  boards  which  often  disdain 
to  consult  the  board  of  education  of  their  communion.  In  spite 
of  many  efforts  the  Young  People's  Societies  remain  without  vital 
relationship  to  a  church  plan  of  education.  Except  for  the  Tuxis, 
The  Comrades  and  Pioneers  curricula  scarcely  any  have  any  pro- 
gram of  church  coordination. 

2.  So  fragmentary  are  these  plans  that  only  a  minor  propor- 
tion of  even  those  regularly  in  church-schools  are  reached;  true, 
here  and  there  a  child  is  found  who  has  been  swept  into  too  many 
of  these  unrelated  efforts,  but  a  child  with  a  church-program  is 
an  exception. 

3.  The  distracting  complexity  of  unrelated  societies,  clubs  and 
organizations  adorned  by  every  imaginable  combination  of  initials 
has  discouraged  pastors,  perplexed  children  and  often  led  to  the 
abandonment  of  all  "the  clutter." 

4.  These  plans  have  been  too  often  conceived  for  the  sake  of 
their  activities  and  not  as  parts  of  the  experiences  of  childhood. 
This  defect  has  been  realized  in  later  organizations,  and  their 
plans  have  been  based  on  educational  principles. 


THE  CHURCHES  IN  WEEK-DAY  WORK       37 

Out  of  the  chaos  of  overlapping  effort  and  cross-firing,  purpose, 
and  for  the  utter  neglect  from  which  large  areas  are  suffering 
there  must  be  organized  system,  there  must  be  instituted  plans  by 
which  children  will  be  led  in  orderly  fashion,  step  by  step,  by 
processes  cooperating  in  educational  method  and  moving  toward 
the  goal  of  a  religious  society.  It  will  not  be  wise  to  sweep  the 
board  clean  by  disbanding  all  societies.  What  is  needed  is,  first,  a 
central,  organizing  purpose,  which  will  be,  second,  directed  by  a 
responsible  body,  a  body  for  religious  education  in  the  local 
church  and  a  like  body  for  the  community.  Then  the  next  step 
would  be  to  establish  a  definite  program  of  training,  in  the  hands 
of  proficient  persons,  centering  in  a  school  system.  Following 
this  it  would  be  possible  to  discover  and  develop  the  suitable 
features  of  present  activities  and  organizations,  and  to  relate  them 
to  this  central  system,  some  of  them  becoming  integral  parts  of 
the  school's  program,  while  others  would  be  related  to  it  precisely 
as  various  forms  of  pupil's  organizations  are  related  to  the  work 
of  public  schools. 

We  have  reviewed  these  activities,  however,  not  to  anticipate  by 
suggesting  their  relations  to  a  program  of  week-day  instruction, 
but  rather  in  order  to  suggest  that  churches  are  familiar  with 
week-day  activities  and  that  week-day  schools  not  only  should  not 
make  church  programs  more  complicated,  but  should  point  a  way 
to  their  closer  unity  and  greater  simplicity.  Already  a  great 
many  churches  are  dissipating,  in  the  management  of  a  heterogene- 
ous scramble  of  organizations,  energy  more  than  sufficient  to 
conduct  a  system  of  training  centering  in  a  school. 

When  we  turn  from  a  brief  survey  of  present  popular  endeavors 
to  look  at  less  generally  known  plans  it  is  well  to  keep  in  mind 
the  principle  just  suggested,  that  the  ultimate  purpose  is  not  this 
or  that  scheme  of  schools  but  the  integi'ation  of  religion  in  the 
school  experience  of  children  and  the  more  complete  rounding  out 
of  the  whole  of  education  through  the  religious  training  of  chil- 
dren. Prof.  Athearn  has  emphasized  the  phrase,  "a  national 
system  of  education,"  in  his  propaganda  for  week-day  instruction. 
Prof.  George  A.  Coe  some  years  ago  called  attention  to  the  fact 
that  in  the  United  States  we  have  no  general  system  of  education 
but  rather  parts  of  a  system  for  which  different-  agencies  are 
responsible.  Now  we  are  asking  how  we  may  approach  more 
fully  the  completeness  of  educational  opportunity,  to  which  every 
child  has  a  social  right,  by  making  adequate  provision  for  the 
hitherto  neglected  religious  element. 


38  THE  WEEK-DAY  CHURCH-SCHOOL 


SCHOOL  TYPES 

Still  considering  types  of  week-day  instruction  which  originate 
in  and  are  conducted  by  the  individual  church  we  come  to  the 
group  which  approaches  much  nearer  to  a  system  of  religious 
instruction.     These  are  found : 

1.  In  Parochial  schools.  One  is  content  with  only  slight  ref- 
erence to  the  well-known  parochial  schools  conducted  by  Lutheran 
and  certain  other  churches,  because  here  religious  instruction  is 
integral  in  the  general  program  of  each  school.  So  far  as  con- 
cerns our  problem,  that  of  providing  with  religious  instruction 
children  attending  state  schools,  the  significant  lesson  of  the 
parochial  school  is  that  thorough  general  education  is  possible 
even  where  definite  time  is  taken  daily  for  specifically  religious 
instruction.  Using  daily  from  thirty  to  sixty  minutes  for  this 
purpose,  and  still  carrying  full  grade  studies  does  not  seem  to 
injure  the  healtii  or  derange  the  social  programs  of  children  in 
parochial  schools.  Where  the  parochial  schools  are  required  to 
carry  the  exact  schedules  of  the  public  schools  an  additional  period 
is  prefixed  to  the  morning  studies;  pupils  often  arrive  at  such 
schools  at  eight  or  at  eight-fifteen  A.  M.  daily.  Where  parochial 
school  work  compares  favorably  with  public  school  work  the 
inferiority  is  due  not  to  the  fact  of  religious  instruction  but  to 
the  fact  that  the  teachers,  the  "sisters,"  often  come  from  training 
seriously  inadequate  and  quite  inferior  to  that  of  grade-school 
teachers. 

While  the  parochial  school  is  not  the  American  solution  of  our 
problem  it  ought  constantly  to  rebuke  Protestant  indifference, 
with  the  picture  of  a  people  who  take  children  seriously,  who  are 
willing  to  be  doubly  taxed  for  education  in  order  that  their  chil- 
dren might  be  trained  for  their  church. 

The  subject  of  parochial  schools,  in  the  sense  of  schools  sup- 
ported by  churches  and  designed  to  give  children  their  entire 
schooling,  is  too  large  for  discussion  here.  But  it  is  well  to 
remember  that  the  enterprise  of  week-day  schools  of  religious  is 
not  a  new  one,  that  many  churches  through  centuries  have  held 
the  religious  instruction  of  children  so  important  that  they  have 
made  the  very  large  sacrifices  necessary  to  maintain  duplicate 
school  systems.  Whatever  we  may  think  of  parochial  schools,  and 
much  as  we  may  lament  the  separation  of  children  in  sectarian 
groups,  these  schools  are  a  testimony  to  the  earnestness  and 
consistency  of  the  Roman  Catholic  and  Lutheran  communions,  to 


THE  CHURCHES  IN  WEEK-DAY  WORK       39 

the  sincerity  of  religious  purpose  with  which  they  regard  their 
children,  and  to  their  willingness  to  put  into  practice  their  con- 
victions of  spiritual  responsibility  for  the  young.  In  the  United 
States  there  are: 

CatJwlio  FarooMaZ  Schools  * 

Elementary  5,748  pupils 1,593,407 

Secondary 1,276  pupils 74,538 

Lutheran  Parochial  Schools  t 

All  branches  of  the  Lutheran  Church  in  the  U.  S. 
'       Schools 5,250  pupils 246,761 

2.  In  survivals  of  church  systems  of  general  education.  In 
churches  which  have  long  maintained  parochial  schools,  such  as  the 
various  Protestant  communions  transplanted  from  central  Europe, 
even  when  these  schools  have  been  abandoned,  there  has  been  a 
natural  and  laudable  attempt  to  conserve  their  specifically  religious 
functions.  Lutheran  churches,  for  example,  have  a  tradition  of 
week-day  classes;  they  have  been  in  the  forefront  in  advocating- 
and  in  establishing  week-day  instruction. 

With  such  an  array  of  activities,  unrelated  and  disorganized  as 
they  may  be,  who  can  assert  that  the  week-day  training  of  children 
is  an  untried  novelty,  or  that  there  is  no  need  for  better  system 
in  week-day  work? 

*  statistics  for   1918. 

t  Statistics  gathered  from  U.  S.  Bureau  of  Education,  Bulletin  No.  10» 
1919. 


CHAPTER  V 
A  SURVEY  OF  PRESENT  PLANS 

What  has  been  the  answer  of  religious  society  to  a  need  so 
common  and  deep?  What  provision  has  been  made  by  the 
churches  for  such  extensions  of  organized  religious  education  as 
would  integrate  its  processes  with  that  of  the  child's  general 
education?  For  this  is  the  essential  need,  that  through  unity 
with  the  normal  daily  experiences  of  children  religious  training 
and  religion  as  an  experience  of  life  should  become  normal  to 
them.  This  consideration  sets  certain  limitations  on  the  field  we 
must  survey;  it  will  exclude  many  of  the  efforts  mentioned  in  the 
last  chapter  because,  while  they  are  additions  to  the  programs 
of  religious  education,  they  are  not  integrated  in  the  normal  edu- 
cational experience  of  childhood. 

The  answer  of  religious  society  has  been  the  introduction  and 
establishment  of  schools  and  systems  of  schools,  conducted  during 
the  week-days,  and,  from  the  child's  point  of  view,  closely  related 
to  his  general  education.  These  schools  have  been  organized  in 
many  places;  in  certain  instances  they  began  fifteen  years  ago; 
they  have  increased  in  number;  they  have  developed  local  educa- 
tional organizations;  they  have  grown  remarkably  in  educational 
efficiency;  they  have  won  recognition  from  the  agencies  of  public 
education ;  they  demand  a  goodly  number  of  trained  workers ;  they 
are  finding  definite  relations  to  the  accepted  programs  of  the  lives 
of  children;  they  are  receiving  recognition  and  support  of 
churches  and  communities,  and  in  no  instance  has  any  organized 
system  of  this  type  been  abandoned. 

These  schools  are  to  be  found  in  all  the  Northern  States  of  the 
United  States;  in  villages,  towns  and  cities,  in  communities  of  all 
different  types,  residential,  industrial  and  mixed,  urban  and  sub- 
urban. They  have  developed  under  a  variety  of  educational 
conditions  due  to  the  differing  state  laws,  forms  of  organization, 
and  the  methods  of  different  boards  of  education. 

40 


A  SURVEY  OF  PRESENT  PLANS      41 


AN  ANALYSIS  OP  TYPES 

Not  all  the  schools  are  alike;  in  fact,  there  are  not  many  that 
are  precisely  alike.  The  variations  in  details  are  so  wide  and 
many  as  to  confuse  any  casual  observer.  Yet  it  must  be  remem- 
bered that,  in  the  essentials,  there  is  remarkable  uniformity ;  they 
are  all  engaged  in  making  religious  education  a  part  of  childhood's 
program  of  general  education,  and  in  doing  this  in  freedom, 
without  organic  connections  with  public  education.  It  may  be 
helpful  to  attempt  an  analysis  of  the  schools,  based  on  the  salient 
features  of  differentiation,  and  to  establish  certain  lines  of  classi- 
fication. For  the  purposes  of  those  who  are  studying  the  schools 
with  the  thought  of  establishing  similar  work  the  following 
analysis  may  be  useful: 

I.  Classification  according  to  local  organization,  or  directing 
responsible  body.    Schools  organized  by : 

1.  Individual  churches. 

2.  Churches  in  cooperation : 

(a)  Local  Church  Federations. 

(b)  Local  church  group  organizations  especially  for 
this  purpose. 

(c)  Simple,       unorganized       cooperation      among 
churches. 

3.  Community  Boards,  on  a  distinctly  cooperative  basis. 

4.  Special    outside    agencies,    denominational,    or    edu- 
cational. 

II.  Classification  according  to  time  programs  of  schools: 

1.  Before  public  school  hours. 

2.  After  public  school  hours. 

3.  During  public  school  hours. 

4.  Saturdays. 

5.  Vacation  seasons. 

III.  Classification  according  to  relations  to  puhlie-school  or- 
ganization : 

1.  Pupils  excused  from  certain  periods  of  public  schools. 

2.  Schools  closed  for  certain  periods. 

3.  Without  change  in  school  programs. 

4.  Entirely  independent  of  public  school  relationships. 
IV,  A  study  of  certain  important  Characteristics : 

1.  As  to  Teaching  and  Supervisory  staff. 

2.  As  to  Buildings  and  Equipment. 


42  THE  WEEK-DAY  CHURCH-SCHOOL 


A  SURVEY  OF  SCHOOLS 

No  attempt  is  made  here  to  include  all  known  schools;  only  a 
sufficient  number  of  instances  are  given  to  illustrate  each  type,  or 
characteristic,  and  to  enable  investigators  to  study  the  various 
possible  forms  and  methods. 

I.  Classification  according  to  local  organization,  or  directing, 
responsible  body. 

1.  Schools  conducted  by  individual  churches.  These  are 
churches  which  have  either  (1)  become  conscious  of 
their  duty  and  opportunity  and  have  proceeded  to 
establish  week-day  school  schedules  without  waiting 
for  community- wide  efforts,  or  (2)  schools  which  for 
various  reasons,  institutional  or  doctrinal,  have  been 
unable  to  cooperate  with  the  community  organization. 
The  examples  are  altogether  too  numerous  to  mention, 
and  it  is  quite  probable  that  the  reader  will  know  of 
more  significant  instances  than  those  cited:  Christ 
Lutheran,  New  York  (fourteen  years  in  operation) ; 
First  Presbyterian,  Flint,  Mich.;  First  Lutheran, 
Dayton,  Ohio;  fifty  churches  in  New  York  City; 
North  Presbyterian,  Rochester,  N.  Y.;  St.  John's, 
Hartford,  Conn. 

2.  Schools  conducted  by  cooperative  church  organizations. 

(a)  Local  Church  Federations.  This  ought  to  be 
and  often  proves  to  be  an  effective  mode  of  local 
organization ;  the  immediate  machinery  is  in  ex- 
istence, and  out  of  it  may  be  created  the  neces- 
sary special  directing  board.  Instances :  Toledo^ 
Ohio;  Hyde  Park,  Chicago.  (Jewish  rabbis  co- 
operated in  Toledo.) 

(b)  Local  Church  organizations  especially  for  this 
purpose.  The  ministers,  or  the  representatives 
of  the  churches  formally  appointed,  organizing 
a  Board  or  a  Council  to  direct  a  group  of 
schools :  Cuyahoga  Falls,  Ohio ;  Batavia,  111. ; 
Northfield,  Minn.;  Somerville,  N.  J. 

(c)  Simple  unorganized  cooperation  amongst 
churches.  Instances:  Corydon,  Iowa;  Elmira, 
N.  Y;  Baltimore,  Md.;   Clifton,  Conn. 

3.  Schools  conducted  by  Community  Boards,  on  a  dis- 
tinctly cooperative  basis.  Such  Boards  usually  rise  out 


A  SURVEY  OF  PRESENT  PLANS      43 

of  the  action  of  pastors  or  church  representatives,  but 
they  are  organized,  usually,  independent  of  denomina- 
tional lines  and  make  their  appeal  to  the  community 
as  a  whole.  Instances :  Gary,  Ind. ;  Van  Wert,  Ohio ; 
Calumet  District  (Ind.)  group,  Indiana  Harbor,  East 
Chicago,  Whiting  and  Hammond;  Evanston,  River 
Forest,  and  Oak  Park,  111. 
4.  Special  outside  agencies. 

(a)  Denominational  Boards.  In  order  to  foster  this 
work  church  boards  conduct  schools.  The 
Protestant  Episcopal  Department  of  Religious 
Education  conducts  a  number  of  "Demonstra- 
tion Schools"  at  New  York,  Grand  Rapids, 
Toledo,  and  Gary. 

(b)  Special  agencies.  The  Protestant  Teachers' 
Association  of  New  York  City  conducts  at  least 
seventeen  schools  in  as  many  churches  in  that 
city. 

II.  Classification  according  to  time  programs  of  schools. 

1.  Schools  having  sessions  before  the  public  school  hours: 
Hammond,  River  Forest,  Evanston;  Ravenswood 
(Chicago) ;  Flint,  Mich.;  Whiting,  Ind. 

2.  Schools  having  sessions  after  public-school  hours: 
Toledo,  Hammond,*  Baltimore;  Kansas  Ave.  M.  E., 
Topeka;  Calvary  Presbyterian,  Berkeley;  Christ 
Lutheran,  New  York;  North  Presbyterian,  Rochester, 
nearly  all  the  Episcopal  demonstration  schools,  Hyde 
Park,  Chicago. 

3.  During  school  hours,  on  an  adjusted  program,  or  by 
excuses  for  pupils:  Gary,t  Van  Wert,  Corydon,  Ba- 
tavia,  Cuyahoga  Falls,  Northfield,  Somerville,  N.  J.; 
Cincinnati,  0.;  Oak  Park,  111. 

4.  Saturdays:  Baltimore,  a  number  of  Lutheran 
churches  (these  in  addition  to  their  week-day  classes). 
For  some  years  a  Saturday  school  was  held  in  Elgin, 
111.;  also  St.  Mark's  Episcopal,  Toledo  0.;  First 
Presbyterian,  Flint,  Mich. 

5.  Vacation  Seasons :  The  many  schools  under  the  Daily 
Vacation  Bible  School  plan,  under  the  Religious  Day 

*  Several  schools  have  sessions  both  before  and  after  public  school, 
t  Where  play  periods,  scheduled  all  through  the  day,  are  used. 


44  THE  WEEK-DAY  CHURCH-SCHOOL 

School  system;  such   individual  instances  as  the  First 
Lutheran,  Dayton. 

HL  Classification  according  to  relations  to  public  school  or- 
ganization. This  relationship  is  simply  one  of  agreement 
as  to  plans  of  organization  on  the  educational  side  and  as 
to  time  programs  so  as  to  make  possible  the  attendance  of 
pupils,  and  does  not  involve  any  control  by  the  public 
schools  nor  any  use  of  the  school  funds  or  authority. 

1.  Pupils  excused,  on  request  of  parents,  from  certain 
periods:  Gary,  Van  Wert,  Corydon,  Toledo,  Oak 
Park,  Northfield,  Cuyahoga  Falls. 

2.  Schools  closed  for  certain  periods:   Batavia,  111. 

3.  Without  change  in  public-school  program:  This  would 
include  practically  all  the  schools  which  meet  either 
before  or  after  public-school  sessions.  However,  some 
school  systems  have  been  so  an-anged  that,  for  ex- 
ample, one-half  of  the  pupils  may  repo-rt  a  period 
late  on  alternate  days,  and  the  other  half  on  the 
remaining  days  so  as  to  attend  religious  schools.  This 
is  the  case  with  certain  schools  in  the  Calumet  District. 

4.  Entirely  independent  of  public  schools.  This  would 
include  all  the  schools  under  II,  4  and  5  above. 

5.  Credit  arrangements  for  high-school  students.  As  at 
Toledo,  Ohio,  where  high-school  students  may  carry  a 
limited  part  of  their  work,  for  which  credit  will  be 
given  in  course,  under  conditions  prescribed  by  the 
school  board,  in  the  week-day  church  schools.  (For 
details  see  the  fuller  account  of  plans  in  Toledo.) 

IV.  A  study  of  certain  important  Characteristics  .- 

1.  As  to  Teaching  and  Supervisory  Staff.    A  number  of 
schools  have  placed  their  work  on  a  sound  staff  basis 
by  engaging  properly  trained  supervisors  and  employ- 
ing only  teachers  who  are  qualified  on  a  level  with  the 
local  public-school  staff.    This  ideal  is  now  being  fully 
recognized  and  rapidly  adopted  as  a  working  rule. 
Doubtless  it  is  in  practice  in  many  schools  and  sys- 
tems not  mentioned  here,  but  some  instances  where  it 
has  been  firmly  established  are: 
(a)  Employed,    trained     Supervisor:     Gary,    Van 
Wert,    Corydon    Calumet    District,    Evanston, 
Grace  Episcopal,  Grand  Rapids;  River  Forest 
and  Oak  Park,  111. 


A  SURVEY  OF  PRESENT  PLANS      45 

(b)  Employed  Teachers,  of  grade  equal,  at  least,  to 

public-school   staff:     Gary,   Oak   Park,   Grand 

Rapids,  Dayton.     In  many  places,  where  the 

program    permits,    public-school    teachers    are 

employed,  on  their  free  time,  and  paid  on  an 

hour  basis.    This  is  the  case  in  Evanston,  River 

Forest,  the  Calumet  District,  in  many  schools 

in  New  York  and  in  a  number  in  Toledo. 

2.  As  to  Places  for  classes  and  schools.     In  Gary  one 

building,  especially  for  this  purpose,  has  been  erected ; 

the   others   schools   meet   in   settlements   and   church 

buildings.     Other  communities  are  planning  special 

buildings.    One  expects  to  use  a  library  building. 

In  a  few  places  the  public  school  buildings  are  used, 
usually  the  local  church-school  organization  pays  rent 
for  the  rooms ;  but  there  is  already  a  notable  tendency 
to  recognize  this  as,  at  best,  a  temporary  expedient 
which  must  be  abandoned. 

May  the  writer  again  emphasize  the  fact  that  this 
is  not  a  statistical  or  complete  survey  of  what  is  being 
done  throughout  the  country;  it  is  not  an  attempt  to 
report  on  the  extent  of  the  work,  but  rather  an  en- 
deavor so  to  analyze  that  work  as  to  indicate  its  out- 
standing characteristics.  Many  schools  are  omitted 
from  mention;  it  is  hoped  that  no  type  of  organiza- 
tion or  general  method  of  operation  has  been  omitted. 

"V.  As  to  Curriculum.  Apparently  the  tendency  has  been,  in 
nearly  all  schools,  at  first  to  take  over  one  of  the  many 
systems  of  Sunday-school  lessons  and  gradually  to  develop 
an  independent  system  of  lessons.  The  practice  varies  so 
that  no  classification  is  possible ;  but  this  general  statement 
is  probably  true:  schools  are  seeking  courses  of  lessons 
independent  of  the  Sunday-school  courses,  based  more 
precisely  on  the  needs  of  children  in  their  every-day  lives, 
and  schools  are  enriching  their  curricula  by  variety  and  by 
the  adoption  of  modern  educational  principles.  Thus  the 
week-day  church  schools  become  not  only  schools  using  the 
Bible,  they  tend  to  become  truly  schools  of  the  Christian 
Ufe. 


46  THE  WEEK-DAY  CHURCH-SCHOOL 


SUMMARY 

While  it  is  not  possible  to  point  to  any  single  type  of  school 
with  the  verdict  that  this  one  has  the  complete  elements  of  finality 
and  success,  it  is  possible  to  point  out  certain  marked  character- 
istics and  tendencies  which  indicate  successful  operation  in  week- 
day religious  instruction.    These  may  briefly  be  stated  as  follows : 

Community  cooperation.  All  the  churches  of  a  community  uniting 
on  a  common  plan  and  working  together. 

Community  organization.  A  single  community- wide  organization 
with  responsibility  for  the  direction  and  support  of  all  week-day 
schools. 

Public-school  correlation.  The  programs  of  religious  instruction 
arranged  in  conference  with  the  public -school  authorities  and 
coordinated  to  the  programs  of  the  public  schools,  usually  on  a 
time-schedule  parallel  to  the  latter. 

Professional  direction.  Supervisors  and  teachers  employed  for  full 
time,  required  to  have  professional  attainments  equal  to  standard 
for  public  schools,  and  of  high  religious  character. 

Designed  buildings  and  equipment.  While  few  special  buildings 
have  been  erected,  the  need  is  generally  recognized;  rooms  in 
churches  are  being  remodeled,  and  rooms  in  other  buildings  fitted 
and  equipped  so  as  to  meet  regular  school  standards. 

CwTvculum.  A  varied  program  of  interests  and  activities — not 
confined  to  "information" — designed  to  develop  children's  pur- 
poses and  abilities  in  living  the  religious  life  of  to-day. 

Extension.  A  remarkable  development  of  interest  in  this  work; 
communities  everywhere  seeking  information  and  preparing  to 
begin  schools  and  classes.  The  Religious  Education  Association, 
in  nine  months  of  1920,  distributed  over  100,000  pieces  of  printed 
matter  on  this  subject  through  its  Bureau  of  Information. 


CHAPTER  VI 

A  DISCUSSION  OF  PKOGEAMS 

Taking  the  analysis  of  types  of  programs  already  given,  what 
are  the  advantages  and  disadvantages  which  experience  has  re- 
vealed ? 

Considering  the  possible  schedules  for  schools,  under  their  rela- 
tions to  the  programs  of  children,  what  are  the  problems  which 
each  one  presents,  what  has  experience  shown  as  to  their  feasibil- 
ity, which  plans  or  arrangement  of  various  plans  offers  the  great- 
est advantages? 

I.     A  STUDY  OF  ORGANIZATION" 

So  far  as  the  programs  of  children  are  concerned,  and  sO'  far 
as  the  actual  operation  of  the  schools,  or  classes,  is  concerned, 
what  forms  of  local  organization  seems  to  be  most  desired? 

The  outstanding  types  are:  the  interdenominational-community 
organization,  the  church-group  organization,  and  the  individual 
church  school. 

1.  The  Interdenominational-Community  System.  Since  our 
purpose  is  to  study  which  scheme  work  best,  from  the  point  of 
view  of  school  operation,  it  is  not  important  to  distinguish  be- 
tween community  school  systems  which  are  conducted  by  a  board 
created  by  the  directly  expressed  will  of  the  community,  and 
those  community  systems  which  are  operated  by  a  board  created 
by  different  churches.  The  mark  of  this  general  type  is  that  it 
offers  one,  united,  cooperating  system  for  a  community. 

Advantages : 

(1)  It  makes  possible  uniform  schedules,  programs,  printed 
forms  and  modes  of  organization  which  make  for  econ- 
omy and  efficiency  of  operation. 

(2)  It  presents  to  the  public  mind  a  common,  united  organ- 
ization, parallel  to  that  of  the  public  school.  It  makes 
it  as  normal  to  think  of  church  schools  as  it  is  to  think 
of  the  public  schools.  It  is  thus  a  means  of  establishing 
the  system  in  the  popular  mind,  as  well  as  a  demonstra- 
tion of  the  fact  that  religious  forces  can  work  together. 

47 


48  THE  WEEK-DAY  CHURCH-SCHOOL 

(3)  It  most  completely  integrates  religious  instruction  in  the 
child's  general  experience. 

(4)  It  secures  the  support,  both  in  public  opinion  and  in 
money,  of  the  widest  possible  constituency. 

(5)  It  enlists  the  personal  cooperation  of  parents  and 
others  who  find  it  much  more  simple,  more  easily  under- 
stood and  more  readily  ussd  when  there  is  a  single  uni- 
form method  and  program. 

(6)  It  presents  remarkable  economies  and  efficiencies  in 
school  administration: 

(a)  Makes  it  possible  to  employ  a  professional  super- 
visor or  director. 

(b)  The  larger  system  is  more  flexible,  in  adjusting 
teaching  programs,  in  scheduling  teachers,  and  in 
providing  for  absences  of  teachers. 

(c)  Uniform  records  and  forms;  a  common  school- 
accounting  system. 

(d)  Simplicity  of  relationships  to  public-school  sys- 
tems; only  one  organization  in  correspondences, 
etc. 

(e)  Economies  in  purchase  of  text-books. 

(f )  Economies  in  use  of  schoolrooms,  one  room  serv- 
ing many  classes. 

In  brief,  the  principal  advantage  is  that  here  the  public 
mind  sees  and  the  public  deals  with  a  single  system  which 
is  regarded  as  parallel  to  the  public  schools;  the  advan- 
tages of  the  consequent  impressions  on  the  minds  of  the 
children  are  of  enormous  importance. 
Disadvcmtages  : 

It  is  conceivable  that  there  may  be  a  tendency 
to  lose  sight  of  the  responsibilities  of  individual  churches, 
to  disassociate  the  schools  from  the  religious  organiza- 
tion and  so  to  divorce  the  child's  early  religious-educa- 
tional experience  from  the  religious  group  to  which  he 
should  belong.  This  can  be  overcome  only  as  the  churches 
maintain  a  lively  interest  in  the  children  and  their  re- 
ligious training.  If  it  comes  to  pass  that  the  community 
system  of  church-schools  takes  the  place  of  the  church 
and  crowds  the  latter  out  of  the  lives  of  children,  the 
fault  will  not  be  with  the  community  for  loving  the  child 
too  well  but  with  the  churches  for  loving  them  too  little. 
Everything  depends  on  the  degree  to  which  the  local 
churches  project  themselves  into  the  school  plans,  sup- 


A  DISCUSSION  OF  PROGRAMS  49 

port  those  plans  and  make  children  realize  that  the 
churches  really  love  them. 

Any  other  disadvantage  may  be  seen  by  a  study  of  the 
particular  advantages  claimed  for  the  next  group  or  type 
of  schools. 

2.  The  Church-group  Organization.  Where  two  or  more 
churches  in  a  community  conduct  each  their  own  classes,  but  under 
a  common  organization,  such  as  the  pastor's  association.  The  dis- 
tinctive mark  of  this  type  is  that  the  schools  are  controlled  by  each 
church  organization  and  the  classes  are  conducted  directly  by 
churches. 

Advantages : 

(1)  Immediate,  conscious  responsibility  of  churches  for  the 
schools. 

(2)  Immediate  control  of  classes,  teaching  and  pupils. 

(3)  Flexibility  as  to  programs;  flexibility  as  to  curricula,  as 
contrasted  with  a  community  or  city  program. 

(4)  Continuous  contacts  between  children  and  churches,  so 
that  children  think  of  these  schools  as  distinctly  church 
schools,  and  thus  loyalties  to  the  church  are  cultivated. 

Disadvantages : 

(1)  The  limited  constituency  is  likely  to  mean  serious  limita- 
tions in  ability  to  secure  pupils;  it  is  quite  likely  to 
mean  that  the  day  school  has  only  the  same  pupils  as 
the  Sunday  school;  it  does  not,  usually,  solve  the  prob- 
lem of  the  untouched  three-fourths  of  the  juvenile  pop- 
ulation. 

(2)  Churches  have  not,  by  their  administration  of  Sunday 
schools,  given  evidence  of  abilities  or  reliability  in  this 
field. 

(3)  Even  though  there  be  large  measures  of  cooperation  the 
public  mind  apprehends  these  schools  denominationally. 

(4)  Difficulty  in  balancing  the  competitive  enterprise  of  in- 
dividual churches  with  loyalty  to  the  interests  of  the 
entire  community. 

3.  The  Local  Church  School.    A  school  or  series  of  classes  con- 
ducted, without  definite  community  cooperation,  by  a  single  church. 
Advantages  : 

(1)  Many  churches  regard  such  classes  as  quite  essential  for 
one  or  more  of  the  following  reasons:  they  must  teach 
their  children  their  own  special  doctrines;   they  must 


50  THE  WEEK-DAY  CHURCH-SCHOOL 

incorporate  ritual  into  the  school  curriculum;  they  dare 
not  expose  their  children  to  traditional  or  illiberal  doc- 
trines as  they  might  be  taught  in  the  community  schools; 
their  children  must  directly  associate  religious  training 
with  their  own  church :  the  curriculum  must  be  a  unitary 
movement  toward  church  membership. 

(2)  The  ease  with  which  any  church  can  start  its  own  work. 

(3)  The  more  immediate  sense  of  responsibility  for  support 
and  direction,  and  the  use  of  the  staff  for  other  church 
purposes.  \ 

Disadvantages : 

(1)  The  accentuation  of  denominationalism,  splitting  the 
child's  community  and  school  exj  erience  up  into  church 
fragments. 

(2)  Total  separation  of  child's  religious-educational  experi- 
ence from  his  general  school  experience,  thus  defeating 
the  purpose  of  integrating  religion  in  the  child's  life 
through  his  dominating  daily  experience. 

(3)  Loss  of  a  school  system;  all  the  advantages  in  super- 
vision, management  and  operation  are  lost. 

(4)  Tendency  to  appeal  only  to  the  group  or  class  of  the 
particular  church,  thus  leaving  the  large  majority  un- 
touched. In  fact,  the  separate  church  class  or  school  has 
few  advantages  save  that  it  is  an  extension  of  the  time 
of  the  Sunday  school. 

(5)  Almost  inevitable  dependence  on  leaders  not  profession- 
ally trained  and  on  teachers  but  little  above  the  Sunday- 
school  average.  (Several  Episcopal  schools  employ 
trained  teachers.) 

(6)  Pupils  often  must  travel  long  distances  to  reach  their 
denominational  schools,  passing,  on  the  way,  other 
schools  to  which  they  would  go  under  a  community 
system. 

II.      THE  TIME  PROGRAM  STUDY 

1.    Marginal,  that  is,  classes  and  schools  conducted  on  a  time- 
schedule  before  or  after  the  hour  of  public-school  work. 

(1)  Except  in  certain  instances  this  means  that  the  periods 
of  the  study  of  religion  are  added  to  the  child's  current 
school  program.  It  is  generally  assumed  that  the  pres- 
ent five-hour  schedule  of  class  work  is  all  that  young 
children  ought  to  carry.    Apparently  to  add  so  small  a 


A  DISCUSSION  OF  PROGRAMS  51 

matter  as  two  periods  a  week  creates  an  additional 
burden  that  only  a  relatively  small  number  will  carry. 
However,  this  is  not  true  regarding  all  schools  nor  all 
children.  In  some  communities  the  school  schedule  is 
really  less  than  a  five-hour  one.  In  the  lower  grades  in 
nearly  all  schools  children  are  free  at  three  in  the  after- 
noon. Some  high  schools  have  programs  which  release 
all  pupils  as  early  as  two  o'clock.  Practical  experience 
offers  many  surprises,  especially  in  the  frequent  dis- 
covery that  children  welcome  and  enjoy  these  additional 
sessions  of  study. 

(2)  This  plan  sets  religious  instruction  outside  the  regular 
program  of  schooling,  tending  to  create  a  consciousness 
of  it  as  an  extra,  and  is  thus  liable  to  prevent  it  becoming 
integral  to  the  child's  general  education  experience. 

(3)  It  is  likely  to  strengthen  the  ideal  that  religious  instruc- 
tion is  non-essential,  below  the  standard  of  the  regular 
studies. 

(4)  It  runs  into  conflict  with  children's  many  activities,  such 
as  play,  social  engagements  and  home  duties.  This  is 
an  objection  that  holds  good  only  in  certain  communities; 
in  many  others  one  of  the  great  needs  of  childhood  is  a 
larger  and  better  programming  of  their  free  hours. 

(5)  It  has  the  decided  advantage  of  being  immediately 
possible. 

(6)  It  usually  calls  for  no  rearrangement  of  the  school 
schedule.  It  is  not  absolutely  necessary  to  wait  the  con- 
sent of  the  school  board. 

2.  Holiday  Periods,  that  is,  classes  and  schools  conducted  on 
days  or  periods  of  time  when  the  schools  are  closed.  There  are 
three  variations  of  this  type:  (a)  the  Saturday  religious  schools; 
(b)  the  Wednesday  afternoon,  when  schools  adjourn  for  a  half- 
day;   (c)  the  summer  vacation  schools  of  religion. 

(1)  The  Saturday  type.  Must  meet  the  opposition  of  a  weU- 
formed  habit,  a  social  custom  which  regards  this  as  the 
children's  day  for  housework,  play,  shopping,  ex- 
cursions, etc.  It  has  been  demonstrated  that  large  num- 
bers of  children  can  spend  one  or  two  hours  of  this  day 
in  these  special  schools.  But  the  fact  that  all  grades 
meet  on  the  same  day,  and  only  this  day,  involves  all 
the  difficulties  of  the  Sunday  schedule,  an  organization, 
equipment,  and  staff  for  a  very  short  time  once  a  week. 
As  an  extension  of  the  Sunday  school  this  plan  is 


52  THE  WEEK-DAY  CHURCH-SCHOOL 

likely  to  prove  useful  and  helpful ;  but  it  is  not  likely  to 
solve  the  problem  of  the  four-fifths  of  our  child  popu- 
lation which  does  not  attend  any  school  of  religion. 

(2)  Wednesday  afternoon.*  This  plan  depends  on  the 
willingness  of  the  school  board  to  close  the  public  schools 
one  half  day  each  week.  It  would,  have  the  advantage 
of  setting  aside  a  special  time,  otherwise  free,  for  this 
special  purpose.  It  involves,  again,  the  development 
and  use  of  all  the  necessary  machinery  for  a  single 
weekly  occasion.  If  teachers  have  to  be  found  for  every 
grade  there  will  be  the  serious  problem  of  securing  a 
sufficient  staff  properly  equipped. 

This  plan  has  a  number  of  advantages.  It  is  likely 
to  have  a  thorough  trial  in  several  communities;  New 
York  City  is  planning  to  put  it  into  use.  Batavia  and 
Northfield  use  it  with  some  adaptations.  Freedom  of 
program,  definiteness  of  time,  the  possibility  of  estab- 
lishing social  habits  are  all  in  its  favor. 

(3)  Vacation  schools,  those  held  during  the  summer  recess. 

Advantages:  Entire  freedom  of  time;  large  numbers 
of  children  remain  in  the  city;  children  welcome 
definite  programs  in  these  free  days;  the  half -day 
school,  held  in  the  morning,  leaves  ample  time  for 
play;  summer  schools,  even  for  children,  are  coming 
into  vogue;  churches  and  community  boards  have 
entire  freedom  without  complication  with  school 
programs  to  arrange  these  schools;  they  have  the 
backing  and  impetus  of  the  well-developed  "Daily 
Vacation  Bible  School  Movement"  and  the  ex- 
perience of  the  "Religious  Day  School"  work. 
3.  Play-time  programs.     Where  the  periods  for  the  school  of 

religion  are  those  of  recess  or  play  in  the  public-school  program. 

These  would  be  of  two  types: 

(1)  Where  the  play  periods  of  the  public  school  are  sched- 
uled through  a  number  of  hours,  so  that  certain  grades 
are  free  at  certain  periods.  This  is  the  case  in  Gary, 
Ind.,  where  the  schedule  of  play  periods  for  grades  can 
be  seen  in  the  schedule  of  classes  in  a  school  of  religion. f 

(2)  Where  all  children,  or  a  great  number  have  the  same 
play  or  recess-periods.     This  is  the  custom  in  a  very 

*  A  plan  ably  described  and  advocated  by  Dr.  George  U.  Wenner,  some 
ten  years  ago,  in  his  book,  "Religious  Instruction  and  Public  Education." 

t  See  the  detailed  account  in  the  chapter  devoted  to  Gary,  especially 
Tinder  section  III,  "Time  Program." 


A  DISCUSSION  OF  PROGRAMS  53 

large  number  of  schools,  though  it  would  be  difficult  to 
find  satisfactory  reasons  for  it  in  any  of  the  larger  grade 
schools.  It  is  a  survival  of  the  customs  of  the  old  dis- 
trict school  when  it  was  necessary  to  dismiss  all  pupils 
at  the  same  time  both  in  order  that  the  one  teacher 
might  supervise  the  play  of  all  and  that  there  might 
be  enough  to  play.  Obviously  there  would  be  mai  y 
advantages  in  larger  schools  if  pupils  went  out  to  pla, 
in  grades  or  in  groups  of  grades.  The  playground 
would  not  be  crowded.  Play  could  be  graded  and  super- 
vised. 

Where  all  are  free  for  play  at  once  the  work  of  the 
school  of  religion  meets  serious  difficulties,  the  entire 
peak-load  is  thrown  on  the  school  at  certain  hours  while 
other  hours  must  remain  idle.  But  where  play 
periods  are  distributed  experience  at  Gary  has  shown 
that  children  will,  with  delight,  give  up  certain  of  their 
play  periods  if  worth-while  work  is  done  in  the  church 
schools.  The  solution,  then,  where  the  two  daily  play 
periods  alone  are  available,  would  be,  first,  to  take  one 
or  two  grades  at  each,  scheduling  the  grades  through 
the  week,  and  then,  second,  to  endeavor  to  secure  from 
the  school  authorities  a  readjustment  of  the  play  sched- 
ule. It  will  be  found,  too,  that  as  children  discover  the 
value  and  pleasure  of  the  week-day  work  in  religion 
they  will  be  willing  to  forfeit  some  of  their  free  after- 
school  hours. 

Advantages :  Both  advantages  and  disadvantages  are 
discussed,  in  general,  under  the  following  head  of 
"School-time  Programs";  but  it  is  necessary  to  note 
the  special  features  that  the  schools  at  Gary  have 
revealed.  On  theory  one  would  have  said  that  it 
would  be  useless  to  ask  children  to  give  up  part  of 
their  precious  play-time  in  order  to  go  to  church 
schools.  Practice  has  shown  that  they  do  this  in 
large  numbers  and  with  every  evidence  of  following 
their  own  desires  and  finding  pleasure  therein.  This 
does  not  mean  that  any  particular  child  gives  up  all 
his  play-periods;  the  work  is  so  scheduled  that  few 
give  up  such  periods  even  on  successive  days.  Some 
have  two,  some  three  such  periods  each  week  in 
which  they  are  found  in  the  church  schools.  This  is 
not  likely  to  be  detrimental  to  the  child's  health, 


64  THE  WEEK-DAY  CHURCH-SCHOOL 

sin(«  the  amount  of  time  taken  is  not  large,  does 
not  occur  every  day  and  still  leaves  the  wide  mar- 
gins outside  of  school  hours  quite  free. 

A  great  deal  depends  on  the  nature  of  the  church- 
school  work.     In  Gary  much  of  this  is  hand-work 
and  in  forms  of  activity,  such  as  dramatics,  pag- 
eantry and  play.     The  tedium  of  monotonous  reci- 
tations   is    avoided;    children    learn    to    enjoy    this 
work  because  it  is  based  on  their  interests,  it  gives 
play  to  their  purpose,  it  meets  their  needs,  it  feeds 
their  life  of  feeling,  it  becomes  in  itself  a  thing  of 
joy  and  beauty. 
4.     School-time  programs,  plans  under  which  the  periods  of 
the  schools  of  religion  run  parallel  to  the  public-school  program, 
pupils  being  excused  from  certain  recitations,  or  free  periods,  to 
attend.     The  schools  at  Batavia,  111.,  and  at  Van  Wert,  Ohio, 
are  good  examples. 
Advantages : 

(1)  Religion  instruction  is  integrated  in  general  instruction, 
although  given  by  other  teachers  and  in  other  places; 
the  child  gains  a  consciousness  of  the  unity  of  education, 
and  the  unity  of  religion  with  life  and  reality. 

(2)  Religious  studies,  when  the  schools  are  properly  con- 
ducted, are  placed  on  a  level  of  importance,  dignity  and 
definiteness  with  other  studies. 

(3)  No  necessary  increase  in  hours  devoted  to  schooling. 

(4)  No  nec^sary  conflict  with  child's  extra-school  programs. 

(5)  Efficiency  of  operation,  scheduling  the  classes  through 
all  the  periods  of  the  week,  in  contrast  to  the  peak-load 
plans  of  the  single  hour  or  half-day,  calls  for  fewer 
rooms,  a  smaller  staff  of  teachers,  and  permits  direct 
superAdsion. 

(6)  Makes  it  both  possible  and  more  likely  for  a  larger 
number  of  children  to  attend.  Coming  as  a  normal  part 
of  the  day's  program,  integrated  in  the  school  schedule, 
all  the  school  children  may  attend;  there  is  nothing 
abnormal  in  these  schools,  as  they  appear  to  any  child; 
th«  many  are  likely  to  go  together  to  them. 

Disadvantages:     Perhaps  these  should  rather  be  designated  as 
difficulties. 
(1)   Difficulty  of  so  arranging  the  public-school  schedule  that 
certain  classes  may  be  excused  at  certain  periods. 


A  DISCUSSION  OF  PROGRAMS  55 

(2)  Difficulty  of  securing  the  consent  of  school  boards  and 
the  cooperation  of  principals  and  superintendents. 

(3)  Time   lost   in   moving  from   the  public  schools   to  the 
churches  or  special  buildings. 

SUMMARY 

On  the  whole,  the  school-time  program  either,  as  at  Gary,  in 
the  play  periods,  or  at  recitation  periods,  seems  to  be  the  most 
desirable,  the  one  most  likely  to  accomplish  these  purposes: 
securing  educational  experience,  economizing  equipment  by  keep- 
ing it  in  fairly  constant  use,  employing  a  small  expert  staff,  and 
using  expert  supervision.  It  comes  nearest  to  restoring  religion 
to  general  education;  it  does  this  without  affecting  the  public 
schools;  it  does  not  unite  with  them;  it  does  not  make  them 
agencies,  nor  does  it  involve  them  in  religious  controversies.  It 
makes  religious  instruction  a  constant,  regular  feature  of  com- 
munity life.  It  is  the  plan  which,  so  far,  has  had  the  most  severe 
testing,  is  conducted  on  the  largest  scale,  and  has  attained  the 
greatest  success. 

But  wherever  plans  are  under  consideration  two  thoughts  must 
be  held  in  mind:  First,  that  any  definite  plans  which  extend 
effectively  the  periods  and  amount  of  religious  instruction  and 
re£U3h  larger  numbers  of  children  are  vastly  better  than  no  efforts 
at  all,  and,  second,  that  in  many  communities  throughout  the 
country  many  plans  must  be  tried,  many  forms  of  experiment 
must  be  conducted;  in  each  place  we  must  do  the  best  we  can, 
learning  each  from  all,  and  thus  demonstrating  the  feasibility 
of  week-day  religious  instruction  and  discovering  the  best  methods. 

It  seems  evident  that  certain  plans  have  advantage  over 
others;  but  we  are,  as  yet,  far  from  the  day  when  we  can  look 
upon  the  forms  of  organization  as  fixed.  It  is  a  mistake  to  sup- 
pose that  any  one  scheme  must  be  adopted  and  promoted  as  the 
only  method.  There  is  occasion  for  rejoicing  in  the  variety  of 
forms  of  experiment,  and  we  ought  to  hold  fast  to  our  freedom 
to  make  new  experiments,  lest  we  fall  into  the  danger,  so  com- 
mon in  America,  of  standardizing  vital  institutions,  of  adopting 
and  limiting  ourselves  to  one  plan  and  one  group  of  materials 
and  one  set  of  methods.  In  every  case  let  the  leaders  fashion 
their  methods  in  freedom. 


CHAPTER  VII 

THE  SCHOOLS  OF  EELIGION  AT  GARY 

Gary,  Indiana,  the  city  whicli,  in  a  few  short  months,  sprang 
up  on  the  sand  dunes  at  the  foot  of  Lake  Michigan,  about  thirty 
miles  from  Chicago,  is  a  clean,  thrifty,  prosperous  community 
of  the  industrial  type,  dependent  on  the  great  mills  of  the 
United  States  Steel  Company.  The  population,  said  to  be  nearly 
50,000,  contains  in  large  numbers  representatives  of  almost  every 
European  state. 

The  Gary  public-school  system  is  known  throughout  the  United 
States  for  its  double-platoon  organization  of  all  the  grades,  from 
the  first  to  the  twelfth,  and  the  parallel  program  which  alternates 
recitations  with  work  in  shops,  auditorium,  gymnasium,  etc.,  and 
permits  a  double  use  of  all  classrooms.*  At  first  the  schools  of 
religion  in  Gary  took  advantage  of  this  program,  receiving  pupils 
as  they  were  free  from  recitations  and  were  in  their  auditorium 
or  gymnasium  periods.  But  now,  as  will  be  seen,  they  receive 
pupils  only  during  the  play  periods,  so  that  these  schools  have 
no  essential  advantage  over  those  in  any  other  community,  so  far 
as  the  school  program  is  concerned.  This  point  needs  to  be 
emphasized,  as  it  has  often  been  said  that  it  is  impossible  for 
other  communities  to  have  schools  of  religion  similar  to  those  in 
Gary  unless  they  have  also  the  Gary  system  of  public  schools. 
The  only  special  provision  in  any  school  program  necessary  to 
the  plan  described  below  is  that  the  play  periods  shall  be  ar- 
ranged at  different  hours  for  different  grades. 

I.      THE  GEISTERAL  SCHEME 

Gary  is  recognized  as  the  city  where  the  most  significant  and 

highly  developed  work  has  been  maintained  over  a  number  of 

years.     The  total   enrolment  in   the  religious  day  schools,   con- 

*  So  brief  a  description  of  the  Gary  public-school  system  may  be 
misleading ;  those  who  are  interested  should  read  the  full  reports 
published  by  the  General  Education  Board. 

66 


THE  SCHOOLS  OF  RELIGION  AT  GARY       57 

ducted  by  the  city  board  of  religious  education,  at  the  end  of 
1920  was  over  3,300. 

History.  The  initial  step  was  taken  by  Dr.  W.  A.  Avann, 
pastor  of  the  First  Methodist  Church,  who  called  a  meeting-  of 
all  pastors,  with  William  E.  Wirt,  the  city  Superintendent  of 
Schools,  to  consider  these  problems : 

1.  The  difficulty  of  securing  Sunday-school  teachers,  due  to 
the  fact  that  teachers  in  the  Saturday  schools  were  not  permitted 
by  the  Superintendent  to  teach  on   Sundays. 

2.  The  difficulty  of  carrying  forward  any  extensions  of  Sunday 
work  into  the  week  because  of  the  crowded  programs  laid  on 
public-school  pupils. 

On  the  second  point  Superintendent  Wirt  suggested  that  pub- 
lic-school pupils  might  be  excused  from  two  periods  weekly,  in 
order  to  attend  religious  instruction,  provided: 

(a)  each  church  should  take  the  children  of  its  own  group; 

(b)  teachers  were  provided,  educationally  equal  to  those  in 

the  public  schools; 

(c)  that  parents  wished  their  children  to  attend,  and 

(d)  that  children  wished  to  attend. 

The  result  of  this  conference  was  that  the  pastors,  with  Super- 
intendent Wirt's  aid,  began  to  plan  a  scheme  of  week-day 
classes.  At  first  seven  churches  began  separate  schools;  when 
the  community  Board  of  Religious  Education  was  organized,  the 
Presbyterian,  Congregational  and  United  Presbyterian  came 
under  that  Board;  soon  afterwards  the  Methodist  and  Christian 
schools  came  into  the  system;  the  Baptist  came  in  after  five  years; 
the  Episcopal  school  is  still  maintained  independently.  At  the 
time  of  operation  separately  the  highest  enrolment  was  700; 
to-day  the  enrolment  is  3,300. 

School  conditions.  It  is  important  to  understand  the  special 
conditions  under  which  the  public  schools  of  Gary  are  operated. 
These  schools  have  a  schedule  of  alternating  periods  for  every 
pupil,  during  one  of  which  he  is  in  recitation  in  a  classroom, 
and  during  the  other  he  is  in  the  auditorium,  gymnasium,  nature- 
study,  music,  playground  or  some  other  activity.  Only  one  half 
of  the  pupils  in  any  grade  will  be  in  a  recitation  room  at  any 
given  period;  the  other  half  will  be  in  one  of  the  auditoriums  or 
"free  periods."  Only  halves  of  certain  grades  will  be  in  play  at 
particular  times.  Under  this  plan  every  classroom  can  be  used 
by  twice  its  capacity.  This  arrangement  has  some  significance 
for  the  schools  of  religion;  at  no  time  are  these  schools  required 
to  receive  more  than  one  half  the  number  of  pupils.     Grades  are 


58  THE  WEEK-DAY  CHURCH-SCHOOL 

all  divided  into  A  and  B  sections;  taking  one  section  at  a  time, 
classrooms  to  accommodate  thirty  are  adequate  where  full  grades 
run  up  to  sixty  in  number  of  pupils. 

When  the  schools  of  religion  were  begun,  in  1914,  pupils  were 
excused,  on  the  written  request  of  their  parents,  from  any  of 
these  non-recitation  periods,  to  attend  the  church  schools;  later 
this  privilege  was  confined,  as  a  rule,  to  the  periods  for  play. 

II.      FORM  OF   ORGANIZATION 

1.  A  local  Board  of  Meligious  Education,  consisting  of  the 
Pastors,  Superintendents  and  two  lay  members  from  each  co- 
operating church,  with  three  or  four  members  at  large,  elected 
at  an  annual  public  meeting  at  which  full  reports  of  work  are 
given. 

Within  this  Board  a  President,  Vice-President,  Secretary  and 
Treasurer,  and  Executive  Committee  are  elected.  The  constitution 
provides  for  regular  Board  meetings  every  month  and  meetings 
of  the  Executive  Committee  at  shorter  intervals.  There  is  also 
a  Financial  Committee,  composed  of  influential  business  men; 
and,  at  the  time  of  writing,  a  Financial  Secretary  is  employed 
who  spends  her  time  in  calling  at  homes,  informing  parents  on 
the  work  of  the  school,  and  securing  subscriptions. 

The  Board  acts  as  would  any  general  school  board,  being  re- 
sponsible for  conducting  the  schools,  engaging  teachers,  securing 
funds  and  paying  all  bills. 

2.  A  Superintendent  of  Week-dai/  Schools.  A  trained  edu- 
cator who  serves  definitely  as  a  city  superintendent  of  schools 
would  serve,  giving  full  time  to  the  work  and  having  an  office 
with  the  necessary  clerical  force.* 

3.  Teachers.  The  Board  endeavors  to  include  in  the  faculty 
only  teachers  of  college,  or  of  Normal-school  training,  with  spe- 
cial preparation  for  religious  work,  experience  in  public-school 
teaching,  and  having  both  religious  character  and  attractive  per- 
sonality. 

Ten  teachers  are  employed,  of  whom  six  are  on  full  time,  one 
on  full  time  less  two  hours  weekly,  and  three  for  less  time.  The 
salaries  of  teachers  range  from  $111  to  $124  per  month. 

4.  Schools.  The  plaa  calls  for  one  for  each  public  school. 
The  following  table  gives  statistics  for  Dec.  1,  1920,  and  shows 
each  of  the  public  schools  with  its  enrolment,  then  the  percentage 

*  Superintendent,  Misa  Mary  Elizabeth  Abernethy,  700  Adams  Street, 
Gary,  Indiana. 


THE  SCHOOLS  OF  RELIGION  AT  GARY       59 

of  that  enrolment  found  on  the  rolls  of  the  corresponding",  adja- 
cent school  of  religion,  the  number  enrolled  therein,  the  percentage 
of  average,  attendance  and  the  percentage  of  children  of  foreign 
parentage  in  that  school  of  religion. 

Church  School  Enrolment 


Public 

Pub.  Sc. 

Ratio  to 

Number 

Per  Cent 

Per  Cent 

Schools 

Enrol- 

Pub. 

Enrolled 

in  Attend- 

of Foreign 

ment 

Schools 

ance 

Descent 

Ambridge 

107 

92% 

99 

96 

24% 

Emerson 

1087 

39% 

429 

91 

29.8% 

Froebel  * 

1965 

42% 

820 

84 

81.3% 

Glen   Park 

618 

54% 

337 

84 

50.6% 

Jefferson  f 

965 

70% 

676 

89 

25.1% 

Horace  Mann 

217 

52% 

112 

83 

20% 

Beveridge 

761 

53% 

404 

86 

65% 

25th  Avenue 

628 

69% 

434 

88 

80% 

Totals:    8 

6348 

54% 

3311 

In  the  approximately  active  enrolment  there  are: 

Boys    . 

1573 

Girls     . 

1398 

5.     Growth  in  Enrolment  since  organization,  on  the  community- 
school  basis: 

1917,  Initial  enrolment     450      Highest  enrolment     800         Schools  3 

1918,  ''  "  800  "  *'  2100  *'       7 

1919,  "  *'  1600  ''  ''  3100  *'       8 

1920,  *'  **  2400  (Nov.)     3308  ''       8 


6.     Enrolment  ty  Grades.     (Analysis  made  at  end  of  Novem- 
ber, 1920) : 

I,    n  1558 

III,     IV  538 

V,    VI  495 

VTI,     Vril  291 


2882  t 

*  The  records  at  the  Froebel  school  were  kept  only  part  of  the  school 
year ;  the  report  is  based  on  a  careful  estimate. 

t  The  separately  conducted  Episcopal  school  draws  from  the  Jefferson 
school  75  pupils;  this  would  raise  the  enrolment,  at  religious  school,  at 
the  Jefferson  to  741,  and  the  percentage  to  77. 

t  Active  enrolment  at  the  end  of  November  reduced  owing  to  the 
number  of  Roman  Catholic  children  compelled  to  go  to  Catechism  classes. 


60  THE  WEEK-DAY  CHURCH-SCHOOL 

"There  are  good  reasons  why  the  enrolment  decreases  as  the 
pupils  advance  in  grades.  First,  there  are  considerably  fewer  chil- 
dren from  the  fifth  grade  up.  Gary  is  a  town  of  young  married 
people,  and  the  majority  of  children  are  young.  The  survey  of  two 
years  ago  showed  5,000  children  under  five  years  of  age.  Second, 
there  are  more  school  interests  to  absorb  the  attention  of  older 
children.  Third,  the  seventh  and  eighth  grades  have  only  one  play 
hour  a  day;  in  some  cases,  only  two  a  week.  This  makes  it  exceed- 
ingly difficult  to  enroll  them  in  the  Church  School;  for  a  boy  who 
will  choose  E«ligious  Education  in  preference  to  football,  hockey, 
or  swimming,  is  scarcely  normal.  Fourth,  there  are  seventh  and 
eighth  grade  classes  in  only  four  of  the  eight  schools,  and  the  en- 
rolment in  two  of  these  is  comparatively  small."  The  superintend- 
ent says :  ' '  We  feel  very  much  encouraged  however,  with  our  seventh 
and  eighth  grade  enrolment  this  year.  Last  year  the  highest  total 
enrolment  for  these  grades  was  60;  this  year  it  has  grown  to  291. 
Of  course  over  half  of  these  pupils  are  coming  just  once  a  week. 
That  was  the  only  possible  way  of  arranging  their  schedule  and  we 
felt  it  was  better  to  have  them  come  once  a  week  rather  than  not  at 
all,  and  we  feel  quite  sure  that  the  enrolment  after  Christmas  in  these 
grades  will  be  considerably  increased. ' ' 

High  School  Grades:  No  work  is  offered  for  these  grades  at 
present,  but  the  Board  is  endeavoring  to  perfect  plans,  either  in 
connection  with  the  grade  work  or  on  the  "Accredited  High- 
Sehool-Bible-Stndy"  basis.  There  are  certain  difficulties:  The 
graduates  of  the  week-day  school  are  too  advanced  to  take  the 
courses  now  approved  by  the  state  of  Indiana  for  high-school- 
Bible-study  credit;  the  colleges  are  not  yet  accepting  the  high- 
school-Bible-study  credits;  the  Gary  high  school  schedule  makes 
it  very  difficult  to  find  suitable  free  periods. 

III.      TIME   PROGRAM 

On  a  play-time  schedule  all  the  pupils,  from  the  first  through 
the  sixth  grade,  attend  during  their  play  hours;  the  seventh  and 
eighth  grades  are  permitted  to  come  at  their  gymnasium  hours. 
These  periods,  coming  at  different  hours,  enable  the  schools  of 
religion  to  maintain  a  fairly  continuous  schedule. 

These  schools  are  under  the  constant  strain  of  adjustment  to 
the  school  program  and  under  the  pressure  of  that  program  on 
the  pupils.  Foniierly  high-school  pupils  might  be  excused  from 
Music  and  from  Expression;  but,  seeing  that  they  almost  unani- 
mously elected  Religious  Education,  the  classes  in  Music  and  Ex- 
pression were  left  without  pupils,  and  this  privilege  was  with- 
drawn. 


THE  SCHOOLS  OF  RELIGION  AT  GARY       61 

The  division  of  every  grade  into  two  groups  (A  and  B),  which 
use  the  same  classroom  in  the  public  schools  alternately,  means 
that  just  half  a  grade,  either  the  A  or  B  section,  would  be  free, 
at  play  period,  to  attend  the  school  of  religion.  The  schedule  of 
the  latter  can  be  seen  by  taking,  as  a  typical  instance,  that  of 
the  Emerson  School  of  Religion.* 


Tuesday  and  Friday 

Wednesday 

Teacher : 

Miss  Nelter 

Mrs.  Judson 

Miss  Abemethy 

8:15 

5th  &  6th  A-B 

6-A  7-B  7-A 

7-A  8-A 

9:15 

1-B  &  2-B 

3-B 

8-B  8-A 

10:15 

1-A 

2-A 

1:15 

1-A  &  2-B 

4-A 

2:15 

1-B 

3-A  4-B 

8-A 

3:15 

5-A   6-B 

6-A  7-B 

7-A  8-B 

The  Community  Schools  of  Religion  are  conducted  throughout 
the  entire  school  year.  In  the  summer  period  there  are  Vacation 
Bible  Schools  conducted  by  certain  churches,  but  at  present 
these  are  not  under  the  community  system,  although  steps  are 
being  taken  in  that  direction. 

Size  of  classes:  The  average  size  of  a  class  is  thirty-five 
pupils;  this  will  fluctuate,  as  some  churches  withdraw  pupils  for 
special  instruction  at  certain  seasons. 

IV.      BUILDINGS  AND  EQUIPMENT 

Ambeidge  School. 

Type  of  building:  Two-roomed,  one-story,  basement  with  furnace; 
mission  Sunday-school  building. 

Number  of  school-rooms:  one,  with  large  cupboard  for  supplies. 

Equipment:    Blackboard,  tables,  chairs    (two  sizes  for  Primary  & 
Junior),  piano,  maps,  Bibles,  etc. 

Owned   (building)  by  Methodist  Church. 
Emerson  School. 

Type:  especially  erected  for  the  school  of  religion,  one-story  with 
basement  and  furnace. 

Eooms:  two,  large  cupboards  for  each. 

Equipment:    Standard    school    desks,   boards,   maps,   organ,   sand- 
table. 

Owned  by  Community  Board  of  Eeligious  Education. 

•  The  Schools  of  Religion  bear  the  names  of  their  public  schools  in  re- 
lation to  which  they  have  been  organized  and  near  which  they  are  situated. 


62  THE  WEEK-DAY  CHURCH-SCHOOL 

FRoEBEL  School. 

Type:  a  settlement  house. 

Eooms:  two  for  classes,  with  cupboard  for  each. 

Equipment:   Blackboards,  narrow  tables,  chairs   (two  heights),  on 

one  side  only,  piano  and  organ. 
Building  owned  by  Presbyterian  Church. 
Glen  Park  School. 
Type:  a  church. 

Eooms:  one  high  basement;  light,  airy,  new  and  warm. 
Equipment:     Blackboards,    tables,    chairs    of    two    heights,    cup- 
boards, organ. 
Building  owned  by  Mjethodist  Church. 
Jefferson  School. 

Type  of  buildings:   (1)  Church;   (2)  separate  edifice,  used  aa  class- 
room for  men  on  Sundays. 
Kooms:  two. 
Equipment:    (1)  fitted  with  regular  school  sets,  desks,  blackboard, 

etc.;    (2)  with  tables  and  chairs,  cupboard,  organ  and  piano. 
Buildings  owned  (1)  Christian  Church;    (2)   Methodist. 
Horace  Mann  School. 

Temporary  use  of  school  building,  after  school  hours,  until  land  is 
graded  and  another  building  is  available, 
Beveridge  School. 
Type:  Church. 
Eooms:     Two  in  basement,  and  upstairs,  group  of  three  connecting 

rooms. 
Equipment:  Kindergarten  chairs  and  tables,  graded  chairs  and  lar- 
row  tables,  blackboard,  piano. 
Twenty-fifth  Avenue  School. 
Type:  Eented  Store  Building. 
Eooms:   one. 

Equipment:  regulation  schoolroom  desks,  seats,  blackboards,  organ. 
Owned  privately. 

V.      AN  analysis  of  THE  CHURCH   SCHOOL  ENROLMENT 

1.  By  Church  Relations.  The  school  office  keeps  a  record  of 
the  church  relations  of  all  pupils.  The  figures  following  give 
only  the  principal  Protestant  bodies.  A*  indicates  a  church 
cooperating'  vt^ith  the  city  Board  of  Religious  Education. 

*Metliodist     328 

•Christian    208 

•Presbyterian   258 

♦Baptist 115 

Colored  Baptist 15 

Christian  Scientists 37 

•Congregational   21 

•Lutheran,  English 68 


*Ref ormed    45 

Jewish    10 

United  Presbyterian 84 

All  other  churches 1376 

Unknown     (Children    un- 
able to  state) 328 

Note   (No  preference  and 
no  church  at  any  time) .   176 


THE  SCHOOLS  OF  RELIGION  AT  GARY       63 


2.    Analysis  hy  Nationalities. 

Polish    70 

Slavish   173 

Bohemian   23 

German   37 

Swedish    14 

Lithuanian   65 

Danish    1 

Austrian   6 

Australian   3 

English    4 

Croatian   94 

Moravian 1 

Russian   103 

Irish   5 

Scotch    6 

Finnish    • «  3 

Boumanisn   51 


Saxon  3 

Servian    30 

Indian  &  French 2 

Persian   1 

Ukrainian    1 

French    3 

Italian 118 

Norwegian    3 

Greek    23 

Serbian   71 

Hebrew   6 

African   232 

Spanish  14 

Bulgarian  6 

Syrian   5 

Mexican    6 

Albanian    3 


VI.      RELATIONS   TO   PUBLIC  SCHOOL   SYSTEM 

Entirely  Separate  in  Operation  and  Control.  The  only  official 
relation  lies  in  the  fact  that,  at  certain  periods,  children  are 
permitted  to  go  to  the  schools  of  religion  upon  a  written  request, 
on  a  specified  form,  sent  in  by  parent  or  guardian. 

In  no  way  is  the  money  or  the  property  of  the  public-school 
system  used;  the  schools  meet  in  their  own  separate  buildings.. 
The  authority  of  the  public  school  is  not  used  to  secure  the  at- 
tendance of  children.  The  Gary  schools  are  an  independent  edu- 
cational enterprise  conducted  cooperatively  by  the  churches  of  the 
city.  This  cannot  be  stated  too  explicitly  as  there  is  a  tendency 
to  speak  of  the  church  schools  as  integral  in  the  public-school 
system.  They  are  as  separate  and  distinct  as  are  the  Sunday 
schools.  The  schools  are  receiving  cordial  support  from  the 
manual  training  teachers  of  the  various  schools  in  that  they  are 
not  only  willing  to  have  the  pupils  of  the  former  substitute  for 
their  regular  manual-training  work  the  making  of  models  which 
are  suggested  by  their  religion  study,  but  the  Directors  supervise 
the  work.  Because  of  this  some  very  fine  work  has  been  turned 
out  by  the  pupils.  They  are  hoping  this  year  to  bring  about  a 
coordination  of  work  in  the  English  department,  allowing  the 
church-school  pupils  to  choose  some  topics  for  themes  from  their 
religious  course. 


64  THE  WEEK-DAY  CHURCH-SCHOOL 


VII.      RELATIONS  TO  THE  PROGRAMS  OF  SUNDAY  SCHOOLS 

In  the  program  of  teaching  close  cooperations  are  not  possible, 
for  these  reasons:  the  week-day  school  grading  differs  from  that 
of  several  Sunday  schools;  the  week-day  school  deals  with  the 
community  as  a  whole  and  not  with  the  church  groups  as  such, 
including,  as  it  does,  many  who  are  not  in  the  Protestant  schools 
and  some  who  are  not  in  any  Sunday  schools. 

Other  forms  of  cooperation:  At  frequent  intervals  a  report 
is  sent  to  the  Superintendents  of  the  Primary  and  Junior  Depart- 
ments of  each  cooperating  church,  showing  the  work  which  the 
week-day  pupils  have  done,  especially  the  work  which  they  have 
prepared  for  general  exercises,  the  reports  suggesting  that  these 
pupils  are  ready  to  take  part  in  group-singing,  the  telling  of  a 
story,  memory  work.  Biblical  pageantry  or  a  missionary  play. 
The  Sunday  schools  always  have  the  privilege  of  using  any  of  the 
models  which  children  have  made  in  the  week-day  schools. 

The  Community  Board  conducts  a  Training  School,  the  faculty 
of  which  consists  of  specialists  who  come  principally  from  the 
educational  institutions  of  Chicago. 

The  general  relations  to  the  Sunday  schools  in  Gary  do  not 
differ  greatly  from  those  prevailing  in  other  cities  where  week- 
day work  is  done,  and  these  are  discussed  in  a  separate  chapter. 

VIII.      CUKRIC?ULUM 

The  lessons  for  the  first  four  years  were  first  prepared  in  out- 
line by  a  committee  of  the  Methodist  Board  of  Sunday  Schools. 
Then  they  were  used  for  four  years,  on  an  experimental  basis, 
the  outlines  only  being  in  the  hands  of  the  teachers,  who  prepared 
and  mimeographed  sheets  for  the  pupils.  At  the  end  of  that 
time  they  were  prepared  for  publication  by  Miss  Mary  Abemethy, 
Miss  May  K.  Cowles,  Miss  Maude  McLaughlin,  and  Miss  Jeanette 
Welber,  and  are  now  in  print.  Work  is  being  done  on  the 
course  for  the  remaining  four  grades.  At  the  same  time  all 
courses  and  lessons  are  held  subject  to  re\asion,  and  new  text 
books  are  being  prepared.* 

The  Gary  schools,  being  the  first  to  adopt  a  full-time  schedule, 
have  afforded  a  splendid  field  for  experimentation  in  the  deter- 
mination of  a  curriculum.    After  five  years  of  work  the  general 

•  Being  published  by  the  Abingdon  Press,  and  in  preparation  by  the 
Presbyterian  Board. 


THE  SCHOOLS  OF  RELIGION  AT  GARY       65 

judgment  is  that  the  curriculum  is  still  in  the  making;  but  cer- 
tain text-books  have  been  adopted  and  steps  are  being  taken  look- 
ing to  a  fairly  well-articulated  system.  This  whole  subject  is 
discussed  in  another  chapter. 

IX.     OOST 

The  cost  per  pupil,  in  the  schools  under  the  community  board, 
fluctuates  as  the  enrolment  increases;  for  the  year  1920,  up  to 
Dec.  1st,  it  had  amounted  to  $4.98.  For  the  preceding  year  the 
cost  was  $3.76;  the  increase  was  due  to  the  increase  in  salaries 
and  to  the  higher  cost  of  all  supplies,  on  the  latter  item  the 
expenditure  being  doubled. 

The  total  budget  for  the  Board's  system  of  school,  for  the  cur- 
rent year,  1920-21,  has  been  set  at  $16,500,  of  which  $10,000  will 
be  raised  locally  and  the  remainder  will  be  contributed  through 
outside  agencies,  principally  by  denominational  boards  fostering 
this  work. 

X.      RESUIiTS 

One  result  is  striking:  the  Sunday-school  teachers  find  the 
week-day  pupils  advanced  far  beyond  their  fellows  in  the  same 
grades,  and  they  often  complain  that  these  week-day  students 
are  very  difiScult  to  teach  because  they  know  often  more  than 
the  teachers  themselves  about  the  Bible.  There  is  no  question 
about  the  results  in  the  increased  intelligence  regarding  religion 
and  the  Bible. 

What  of  the  results  in  life,  in  character  and  in  social  living, 
the  results  for  which  we  have  been  urging  that  such  schools 
should  be  established?  How  far  do  these  schools  in  Gary  con- 
tribute toward  a  more  Christian  social  order?  Here,  fortunately, 
we  have  a  good  deal  of  direct,  unprejudiced  testimony. 

The  superintendent  of  schools  has  several  times  borne  testimony 
to  the  better  behavior  of  pupils,  to  evidences  of  greater  honesty 
and  higher  standards  of  conduct ;  other  citizens  bear  similar  testi- 
mony. One  must  remember  that  Gary  is  essentially  an  industrial 
community,  the  great  and  new  steel-corporation  city. 

One  public-school  principal  said  that  within  a  month,  "There 
has  been  a  decided  decrease  in  lying,  stealing  and  quarreling 
among  the  pupils  who  attend  the  Week-day  Religious  School." 

"A  principal  of  one  school  says  that  for  the  last  two  years  she 
has  noticed  such  a  difLerence  in  the  pupils  in  regard  to  lying 
and  stealing.    That  now  it  is  perfectly  safe  to  hang  wraps  in  the 


66  THE  WEEK-DAY  CHURCH-SCHOOL 

hall,  and  there  is  practically  no  stealing.  She  lays  it  chiefly  to 
the  work  of  the  Church  School  which  the  majority  of  the  children 
are  attending. 

*'The  children  in  the  foreign  schools,  as  well  as  in  the  American 
sections,  are  asking  for  Bibles  and  Hymn  Books.  The  foreign 
children  say  that  they  tell  the  Bible  stories  to  their  parents  at 
night  and  sing  the  songs  to  them.  Already  the  children  have 
bought  many  Bibles  and  many  more  are  asking  to  buy  them. 

"One  little  girl  took  a  Bible  in  her  hands  and  examined  it  inside 
and  out,  handled  it  with  much  respect  and  reverence,  and  then  she 
looked  up  to  her  teacher  and  said,  ^This  is  the  first  time  in  my  life 
I  ever  had  a  Bible  in  my  hands.^ 

"The  children,  as  a  result  of  the  teaching,  are  asking  a  great 
many  interesting  questions.  One  little  girl  asked  one  day  if  it 
would  be  fair  to  ask  God  for  two  things.  She  said,  ^I  asked  God 
to  make  my  grandmother  well  and  He  did  it,  and  I  wonder  if  it 
would  be  fair  to  ask  Him  for  something  else.' 

"A  boy  asked  if  it  would  be  right  when  he  was  saying  the 
Lord's  Prayer  to  stop  in  the  middle  of  it  and  think  what  he  was 
saying,  or  whether  he  would  have  to  go  right  through  without 
stopping. 

"One  little  hot-blooded  Italian  girl  had  two  lessons  on  forgive- 
ness; and  after  learning  the  text  *Be  ye  kind  one  to  another,  for- 
giving each  other,'  came  back  to  her  teacher  and  said,  'Mary  hit  me 
yesterday  and  I  did  not  hit  her  back.    I  did  not,  I  forgave  her.' 

"When  the  Lord's  Prayer  was  being  explained  in  one  class, 
and  the  teacher  came  to  the  phrase  'Give  us  this  day  our  daily 
bread'  one  little  child  asked  if  that  meant  cabbage  too." 

A  Catholic  mother  came  to  visit  the  school  and  stayed  through 
an  entire  class  hour.  At  the  close  she  said,  "I  wanted  to  see 
what  you  are  doing  at  this  school,  for  it  has  made  such  a  change 
in  my  little  girl.  She  used  to  have  the  reputation  of  being  the 
most  quarrelsome  child  in  the  neighborhood,  but  since  she  has 
been  coming  here,  she  is  a  different  child.  She  is  always  quoting 
what  the  teacher  says  about  being  kind,  and  playins:  fair,  and  not 
quarreling.  If  it  can  do  so  much  for  her,  I  want  her  to  come  as 
long  as  there  is  a  school." 

A  few  days  after  hearing  a  lesson  on  God  as  the  giver  of  food 
and  drink,  a  little  girl  said  to  her  teacher,  "I  never  take  a  drink 
of  water  now  without  thanking  God  for  his  gift." 


CHAPTER  VIII 
THEEE  TYPICAL  PLANS 

I.      VAN  WERT,  OHIO 

Van  Wert,  a  community  of  about  8,000,  with  sixteen  Protes- 
tant and  one  Roman  Catholic  church,  two  of  the  former  are  negro 
churches  and  four  are  not  strong.  Good  will  and  the  spirit  of 
cooperation  prevail  among  the  churches. 

Organization  for  Week-day  Instruction.  A  Religious  Educa- 
tion Board,  consisting  of  the  pastor  and  two  lay  members  from 
each  of  the  ten  cooperating  churches,  all  the  stronger  Protestant 
churches.  The  President,  Secretary  and  Treasurer,  with  four 
members  of  the  board  constitute  an  Executive  Committee  with 
power  to  act  on  all  matters  arising  between  meetings  of  the  full 
board. 

In  1918,  a  committee  was  appointed  by  the  local  organization 
of  ministers  of  churches  to  arrange  for  week-day  instruction. 
Under  these  auspices  the  work  was  begun  and,  later,  transferred 
to  the  Community  Board. 

Superintendent.  A  trained  teacher,  having  had  experience  in 
the  week-day  schools  of  religion  at  Gary,  employed  on  full  time.* 
Organizing  the  work,  and  teaching  classes. 

Teachers.  The  superintendent,  and  one  assistant  who  has  three 
classes  weekly. 

School  Plan.  Pupils  are  excused  from  public  school  only  on 
the  written  request  of  parents  or  guardians. 

Each  pupil  has  two  periods  of  one  half  hour  each  every  week. 

Classes  are  held  on  public-school  time,  in  separate  buildings. 
As  a  rule  each  class  in  the  school  of  religion  consists  of  one 
half  the  children  from  two  related  grades  in  the  public  school. 
Those  remaining  in  the  public  schools — usually  a  very  small  num- 
ber— ^have  the  opportunity  of  closer  personal  attention  from  their 
teachers. 

Only  one  class  is  in  session  at  a  time. 

*  Miss  May  K,  Cowles,  Van  Wert,  Ohio. 

67 


68  THE  WEEK-DAY  CHURCH-SCHOOL 

There  are  four  grade  schools  in  the  village;  the  work  being 
offered  for  the  first  six  grades,  taking  two  at  a  time,  and  offering 
two  periods  for  each  class,  makes  twenty-four  periods  weekly 
of  the  school  of  religion. 

The  public-school  authorities  determine  the  subject  or  period 
from  which  children  in  each  school  may  be  excused  and  the  sched- 
ule of  religion  classes  is  made  up  in  conference  between  the 
school  board  and  the  board  of  religious  education. 

Enrolment  and  Attendance. 

1918-19  Public  S.  EnrPt  950  Church  S.  Enr't  775 Per  cent.— 81 

19-20     *'         '*       "       980      *'       '*       '*      850 Per  Cent.— 8© 

21    <«         **       "  '*       *'       **      827 

The  average  attendance  for  the  completed  year  was  90%  of 
the  monthly  enrolment.  The  enrolment  includes  ninety  children 
belonging  to  no  Sunday  school. 

By  Grades,  December,  1920 

I.     179  rV.    124 

II.    160  V.    110 

ni.    147  VI.    107 

Buildings.  The  pupils  from  one  school  meet  in  a  church;  the 
pupils  from  another  school  in  the  Y.  W.  C.  A.  At  two  schools 
rooms  are  rented  in  the  public-school  building;  the  law  of  the 
state  permitting  this  whenever  a  certain  number  of  citizens  peti- 
tion the  board. 

Curriculum.  The  course  of  study  is  similar  to  that  which  has 
been  worked  out  for  the  schools  at  Gary.  A  statement  from  the 
superintendent  indicates  the  degree  to  which  this  curriculum  dif- 
fers from  that  of  the  ordinary  Sunday  school :  "Each  class  period 
is  begun  with  a  short  devotional  service,  usually  consisting  of  a 
song,  a  prayer  and  sometimes  the  recitation  of  some  Scripture 
that  has  been  memorized.  Hymns,  memory  texts,  psalms,  and 
other  choice  passages  of  Scripture  are  learned  as  time  permits. 
The  Religious  Education  Board  has  provided  each  classroom 
with  Bibles,  so  that  the  pupils  may  handle  the  book,  and  learn  to 
use  it.  • 

"Sometimes  a  part  of  the  class  period  is  used  for  expressional 
work,  the  younger  grades  usually  coloring  a  picture  suggested 
by  the  lesson,  the  older  grades  answering  some  questions,  or 
writing  something  to  fix  the  main  points  of  the  lesson.    This 


THREE  TYPICAL  PLANS  69 

handwork  should  be  given  with  every  lesson,  but  with  the  short 
half -hour  period,  it  has  not  always  been  practicable.  Occasion- 
ally a  whole  class  period  is  given  to  the  expressional  work.  All 
the  handwork  is  done  on  loose  leaves  which  are  eventually  bound 
into  a  notebook  for  the  pupil  to  keep. 

"No  credit  in  the  public  school  has  been  given  thus  far  for 
the  work  done  in  Bible  class,  but  the  pupils  who  accomplish  the 
memory  work  have  their  effort  recognized  by  some  special  page 
for  their  notebook.  Pupils  who  do  not  do  the  work,  do  not  get 
the  credit  page.  Last  year  from  65  per  cent  to  80  per  cent  of 
each  class  completed  the  memory  work  with  satisfaction.  Pupils 
are  encouraged  to  get  some  of  their  memory  work  at  home,  and 
many  Bibles  are  now  in  use  in  homes  where  they  used  to  be  laid 
away." 

Finances.  For  the  first  year  the  cost  per  pupil  was  just  two 
dollars;  this  very  low  cost  was  possible  because  there  was  but 
small  expense  for  buildings  and  upkeep  and  because  the  schedule 
of  work  called  for  only  one  employed  teacher.  The  responsibility 
for  securing  the  money  rested  upon  the  community  board  and 
was  obtained  by  direct  solicitation  at  the  hands  of  some  twenty- 
five  canvassers.  Since  this  there  has  been  a  slight  increase  in 
cost,  $2.50  per  annum  per  pupil  for  1920-21,  and  the  responsibil- 
ity for  support  has  been  assumed  more  directly  by  the  churches. 
Each  church,  on  a  proportionate  basis  determined  by  its  abilities, 
agrees  to  pay  a  fixed  percentage  of  the  total  cost. 

Results.  One  of  the  most  striking  and  suggestive  results  is 
the  fact  that  over  one  hundred  seventh  grade  pupils  have  asked 
that  the  work  be  extended  to  them.     The  Superintendent  says: 

"It  is  impossible  to  measure  spiritual  values  by  statistics. 
Parents  testify  to  the  fact  that  the  Bible  stories  and  truths  really 
do  take  hold  of  the  lives  of  the  pupils,  and  that  the  pupils  bring 
home  the  lessons  learned  in  the  Bible  classes.  Frequent  reports 
come  from  mothers  and  teachers  of  Sunday  school  classes  to  the 
effect  that  there  is  a  renewed  interest  in  the  work  on  Sunday 
because  the  children  have  the  work  also  during  the  week.  It  has 
been  especially  noted  that  some  of  the  boys  who  were  indifferent 
or  disliked  to  go  to  Sunday  school  are  more  interested  since  they 
have  a  better  working  knowledge  of  the  Bible.  The  interest  this 
year  is  just  as  keen  as  last  year,  and  it  is  gratifymg  to  note  the 
anticipation  and  enthusiasm  with  which  the  children  look  forward 
to  the  days  in  the  school  week  when  they  will  have  their  Bible 
lesson." 


70  THE  WEEK-DAY  CHURCH-SCHOOL 


II.      BATAVIA,  ILLINOIS 

Batavia  is  a  ^dllage  of  about  five  thousand  now  completing  the 
second  year  of  a  successful  week-day  school  of  religion  under 
the  direct  supervision  and  care  of  the  churches  of  the  com- 
munity.* 

Organization.  A  very  simple  organization  of  the  pastors  of 
the  village  who  cooperate  in  arranging  with  the  schools  for  a 
time-program  of  classes  for  all  churches. 

Churches  cooperating:     Baptist,  Brethren,  Roman  Catholic, 
Congregational,    Episcopal,    Methodist,    German    Lutheran, 
Swedish  Methodist,   Swedish  Mission,   German   Evangelical. 
(Christian  Science  only  church  not  cooperating.) 
Teachers.     The  pastor  of  each  church  teaches  his  own  group, 
with  such  assistance  as  may  be  needed.     This  means  that 
the  whole  of  one  day  each  week  must  be  devoted  to  this  work, 
the  classes  meeting  throughout  all  the  public-school  hours 
of  that  day. 
School  Plan.    Nearly  all  the  school  children  are  excused  from 
public  school  for  the  church  classes;  special  work  is  provided 
for  the  small  number  who  do  not  attend. 

Classes  are  all  held  on  one  day,  Thursday,  on  public-school 
time. 

Each  church  has  its  own  classes;  the  Methodist  and  Swedish 
Methodist  classes  meet  together.  Each  class,  in  each  church,  con- 
sists of  children  from  two  related  grades,  attending  on  the  fol- 
lowing schedule: 

Thursday:  9.00 — 10.15 Grades  1  and  2 

School  recess 

10.45  to   12.00 Grades  3   and  4 

Noon  recess 

1.15 — 2.15 Grades  5   and  6 

Eecess 

2.30—3.30 Grades  7   and   8 

Enrolment  and  Attendance.  Of  the  725  pupils  in  the  village 
schools  all  but  15  are  enrolled  in  the  church  schools,  that  is, 
over  97%. 

*  This  account  is  prepared  largely  from  a  report  by  the  Rev.  Victor 
Hoag.  rector  of  Calvary  Episcopal  Church,  Batavia,  111.,  and  from  Infor- 
mation received  from  Mr.  E.  W.  Sargent,  Secretary  for  Public  School  Co- 
operation, of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Board  of  Religious  Education, 
289  Fourth  Avenue,  New  York. 


THREE  TYPICAL  PLANS  71 

In  the  forty  weeks  of  the  first  year  there  was  not  a  single  case 
of  truancy.  Every  pupil  was  either  in  attendance  or  excused 
and  accounted  for.  The  plan  evidently  has  become  an  integral 
part  of  the  routine  or  program  of  the  school  children.  "If  a 
child  comes  to  public  school  on  Thursday  he  also  comes  to  the 
church  school."  This  is  what  Mr.  E.  W.  Sargent  means  when  he 
speaks  of  making  religious  instruction  fit  into  the  "child's  busi- 
ness time." 

Places  of  Instruction.  The  churches  generally  are  using  their 
former  equipment,  holding  the  classes  in  church  parlors,  guild 
halls,  parish  houses,  or  in  the  church  auditorium  proper.  It  has 
been  suggested  that  in  towns  having  a  Y.  M.  C.  A.  or  community 
house,  centrally  located,  a  room  in  such  a  building  could  be  as- 
signed to  each  church  on  the  church  day,  thereby  saving  much 
walking  from  the  farthest  schools,  to  the  farthest  churches. 
However,  in  Batavia  distances  are  not  great,  and  this  has  not 
proved  a  serious  inconvenience.  One  church  sends  an  auto  four 
times  during  the  day  to  the  most  distant  school.  This  may  be 
discontinued  in  the  better  weather. 

Curriculum.  The  course  of  study  varies  according  to  the 
church  where  the  pupil  attends,  each  pastor  being  responsible 
for  his  own  course.  On  the  question  of  pastors  as  teachers  Mr. 
Hoag  makes  this  interesting  comment: 

"In  practically  every  case  the  chief  teacher  is  the  pastor. 
This  is  quite  as  it  should  be,  and  the  result  is  that  the  children 
are  known  to  their  pastor  as  was  never  possible  under  the 
Sunday  school.  The  fact  that  the  children  come  in  successive 
groups,  and  not  all  at  one  time,  makes  it  unnecessary  to  have 
many  teachers.  The  largest  church  in  town  manages  its  Thurs- 
day school  with  the  teaching  of  the  pastor  and  three  other  teach- 
ers. Moreover,  the  confusion  of  having  all  ages  in  the  same  room 
or  building  at  the  same  time,  as  under  the  Sunday-school  system, 
is  done  away.     This  helps  both  discipline  and  work." 

Cost.  The  teachers  receive  no  pay,  nor  is  there  required  very 
much  additional  equipment,  so  that  the  Batavia  Plan  really  costs 
very  little  more  than  the  old  Sunday  schools.  A  new  type  of 
teacher  has  been  discovered  in  the  person  of  mothers  who  have 
been  experienced  teachers  but  who  could  never  manage  to  take 
a  Sunday-school  class  because  of  household  arrangements.  Such 
women  can  much  more  easily  give  a  week-day  morning,  and 
make  most  effective  teachers. 


72  THE  WEEK-DAY  CHURCH-SCHOOL 


Summary 

1.  The  children  come  in  successive  groups  of  two  grades  at 
a  time. 

2.  The  pastors  and  the  school  authorities  agree  upon  a  definite 
and  uniform  schedule  of  classes  for  all  churches. 

3.  One  day  of  the  week  only  is  involved,  thereby  making  it 
unnecessary  for  the  churches  to  maintain  an  elaborate  teach- 
ing system,  nor  requiring  the  pastor  to  remain  at  home  for 
more  than  the  one  day. 

4.  The  teaching  is  strictly  denominational.  Each  church  gives 
to  its  children  what  it  believes  to  be  the  Faith,  and  in  its 
own  way. 

5.  No  credits  are  given  by  the  public  schools,  but  a  place  on 
the  monthly  report  cards  may  be  granted  in  another  year, 
this  merely  to  show  the  parents  what  progress  is  being  made. 

6.  At  present  the  plan  does  not  include  the  children  of  the 
High  School,  nor  the  primary  children  below  First  Grade. 

7.  Every  Church  in  Batavia  except  the  Christian  Science  is 
making  use  of  the  system.  There  are  no  parochial  schools  in 
the  city. 

ni.     CORYDON,  IOWA 

Corydon  is  a  rural  village  of  2000  population,  surrounded  by 
a  farming  community.  There  are  only  three  churches  in  the 
village,  Baptist,  Christian  and  Methodist.  These  three  unite, 
in  rather  an  informal  manner,  in  supporting  the  plans  of  week- 
day instruction  in  religion,  one  of  the  pastors  taking  the  lead 
and  assuming  the  responsibility  while  the  others  agree  in  sup- 
porting the  work. 

Organization,  as  already  stated,  somewhat  informal,  the 
churches  cooperating  and  having  the  hearty  cooperation  of  the 
local  school  board.  The  work  was  begun  on  August  29th,  1920, 
under  the  immediate  direction  of  one  of  the  three  pastors. 

Teaching:  One  employed  teacher,  giving  entire  time  to  the  work 

and  teaching  all  classes. 
Enrolment:  Total  275. 

In  the  grades  up  to  eight  every  child  is  enrolled,  a  total  of  250. 
Attendance:   The  attendance  runs  parallel  to   that  of   the  public 

school  as  children  go  directly  from  one  class  in  the  public  school 

to  a  class  in  religion. 


THREE  TYPICAL  PLANS  73 

Place:  At  present  all  teaching  is  done  in  rooms  of  the  pubUe 
school;  the  community  is  unitedly  Protestant  and  no  objections 
have  been  made;  but  the  plan  of  fitting  up  a  special  room  in  the 
library  building  on  the  square  has  been  discussed. 

Schednile: 

Grade  1.  Tuesdays  &  Thursdays 1.50  P.  M.— 2.10 

2.  Mondays   &   Wednesdays 1.50  P.  M.— 2.10 

3.  Tuesdays    &    Thursdays 11  A.  M.— 11.20 

4.  Wednesdays   &  Fridays 11  A.  M. — 11.20 

5.  Every    day 1.20  P.  M.— 1.40 

6.  Every    day 11.30  A.  M.— 11.50 

7.  Every    day 3.40  P.  M.— 4.00 

8.  A.     Every  day 3.00—3.20 

8.  B.     Every  day   3.20—3.40 

High  School,  every  day 8.45  A.  M. — 9.40 

Curriculum:     For  the  first  four  months, 

1 — 4  ''God  the  Loving  Father"   (Scribner  Series) 

5 — 6  ''Bible  and  Bible  Country"   (Beacon  Series,  old) 

7 — 8  "Heroes  of  Israel"   (University  of  Chicago  Series) 

High  "Story  of  Our  Bible"   (Scribner  Series) 

New  material  is  being  organized  for  the  rest  of  the  first  year. 

There  is  also  a  training  class  taught  by  the  community  teacher, 

and  intended  for  mothers,  in  which  the  same  text  is  followed 

as  in  the  High-school  grades. 

Expense.  The  items  of  expense  are  for  teacher's  salary  and 
for  textbooks.  The  money  is  obtained  through  subscriptions  se- 
cured throughout  the  community  by  the  aid  of  the  different 
churches,  with  a  treasurer  who  is  especially  responsible. 

General  Comment.  This  particular  enterprise  indicates  what 
is  possible  even  in  a  small  community.  It  also  indicates  the  pos- 
sible simplicity  of  organization,  though,  undoubtedly  in  time, 
somewhat  more  by  way  of  directing  organization  will  be  neces- 
sary. It  is  not  well  to  leave  entirely  to  the  discretion  of  the 
employed  teacher  all  matters  of  administration  and  curriculum. 
The  weakness  lies  not  alone  in  that  this  plan  makes  one  individ- 
ual solely  responsible  for  any  mistakes,  but  that  it  fails  to  de- 
velop an  intelligent,  active,  interested  constituency.  There  is 
always  the  temptation  to  carry  work  forward  in  the  easiest  way, 
but  it  will  pay  better,  in  the  long  run,  to  take  some  apparently 
unnecessary  steps  in  developing  an  organization  for  direction 
and  counsel. 

The  plan  of  places  of  meeting  can  never  be,  on  general  prin- 
ciples, regarded  as  satisfactory.  The  public-school  building 
should  not   be  used  for  private  religious  purposes,   not   even 


74  THE  WEEK-DAY  CHURCH-SCHOOL 

where  there  is  no  breath  of  opposition  in  the  community.  One 
practical  consideration  is  that  this  community  is  a  part  of  the 
larger  community  of  the  state  where  practical  opposition  is  sure 
to  develop,  and  the  school  system  is  a  part  of  the  state  school 
system.  It  will  not  do  to  say  that  only  the  funds  of  the  com- 
munity are  being  used,  because  the  state  tax  helps  support  this 
school. 

Of  course  the  churches  will  see  this  ultimately  and  will  be 
willing,  by  that  time,  we  should  expect,  to  take  steps  to  provide 
a  building,  or  rooms  outside  the  school.  In  fact,  since  under 
their  schedule  one  room  only  is  needed  this  will  not  be  a  serious 
matter.  The  plan  to  meet  in  the  village  library  seems  to  be 
quite  different  from  meeting  in  the  schoolhouse:  the  library 
is  a  village  affair;  it  is  not  uncommon  for  their  rooms  to  be 
used  for  similar  purposes. 


CHAPTER  IX 
A  GROUP  OF  TYPICAL  PLANS 

ROCHESTER,  N.  Y. ;  TOLEDO,  OHIO;  SOMERVILLE,  N.  J.;  CINCINNATI; 
NORTHFIELD,  MINN.;  NEW  YORK  CITY;  CHICAGO;  GRAND  RAPIDS, 
MICH.;   APPROACHES  TO   CHURCH   SCHOOL  PLANS. 

I.      ROCHESTER,   N.   Y. 

Comrrmnity  Survey.  The  work  in  Rochester,  although  not 
yet  organized  on  a  city-wide  basis,  has  the  background  of  the 
religious  survey  conducted  by  the  local  church  federation  as  a 
part  of  the  Inter-Church  World  Movement  survey.  The  fol- 
lowing facts  concern  the  situation  as  to  the  religious  nurture  of 
children : 

School  census  (between  four  and  eighteen) . . .     63,000 

In  parochial  schools 15,000 

In  Protestant  Sunday  Schools *18,500     33,000 

Not  enrolled  in  any  religious  school 30,000 

After  making  allowance  for  any  school  children  in  institutions 
not  included  in  the  above,  it  is  evident  that  of  the  Protestant 
constituency  less  than  25%  receive  anything  like  regular  relig- 
ious instruction. 

Junior  High  School.  Plan  inaugurated  by  the  North  Pres- 
byterian Church,  Rochester,  N.  Y.,  with  the  cordial  cooperation 
of  the  superintendent  of  public  schools.  Provides  for  two 
periods  weekly  in  which  the  pupils  in  grades  seven  and  eight, 
being  the  two  first  grades  of  the  Junior  High  School,  might  be 
excused,  one  grade  each  day,  from  the  class  in  English  and 
receive  religious  instruction  in  the  church. 

*  These  figures  are  for  enrolment  only ;  the  attendance  shows  not  oveP 
9,620  present  on  any  one  Sunday. 

75 


76  THE  WEEK-DAY  CHURCH-SCHOOL 

Features:  conducted  by  single  church,  but  used  by  pupils  from 
all  churches  of  the  neighborhood.  Calls  for  time  in  regular 
school  program,  permitting  absence  from  a  specified  subject. 

This  particular  enterprise  is  now  being  merged  into  a  Com- 
munity organization  for  week-day  instruction  on  a  larger  pro- 
gram. 

An  interesting  testimony  comes  from  this  Junior  high  relig- 
ious class.  It  happened  that  the  term  examinations  came  at  the 
time  when  a  large  circus  was  in  the  city,  the  public  Junior  High 
school  was  so  depleted  in  attendance  that  several  rooms  were 
obliged  to  close,  but  the  school  of  religion  registered  98%  at- 
tendance from  the  same  school  for  examinations  at  the  same 
hours. 

St.  PauVs  Protestant  Episcopal.  Organized  on  the  general 
plan  of  the  other  Episcopal  demonstration  schools — as  St.  Mark's, 
Toledo,  and  Grace,  Grand  Rapids.  An  employed  trained  teacher, 
on  full  time.  Pupils  are  received  daily,  by  grades,  from  3  to 
4  P.  M.,  on  parent's  request. 

The  rector  of  St.  Paul's  invites  other  nearby  churches  to  co- 
operate, offering  the  use  of  any  space  necessary;  he  has  made 
special  plans  so  that  the  Jews,  who  have  no  suitable  building 
near  to  the  public  schools,  may  use  St.  Paul's  Parish  House 
where  with  their  own  teachers  and  course  of  instruction  Jewish 
children  might  receive  religious  training  under  the  direction  of 
their  own  church. 


n.      TOLEDO,  OHIO 

Organized  in  1916,  conducted  under  the  direction  of  The  Com- 
mission on  Religious  Education  of  the  Inter-Church  Federation 
of  Toledo,  cooperating  with  the  Lucas  County  Sunday  School 
Association. 

Employs  a  half-time  superintendent,  and  about  sixty  teachers. 
The  teachers  are  each  paid  by  the  lesson,  most  of  them  teach 
only  two  periods  each  week ;  forty  have  had  public-school  teaching 
experience. 

The  Plan 

The  Elementary  Grades.  The  City  Board  of  Education  will 
permit  any  child,  on  written  request  from  his  parent  or  guardian, 
to  be  dismissed  one  hour  a  week  to  attend  religious  instruction. 


A  GROUP  OF  TYPICAL  PLANS      77 

Grades:  I,  II  on  Mondays  at  2.15. 

Ill,  IV  on  Tuesdays  at  2.15. 
V,  VI  on  Thursdays  at  2.15. 
Vn,  VIII  on  Fridays  at  2.15. 

High  School  Grade  pupils  in  the  high  schools  may  receive  a 
limited  amount  of  credit  for  work  done  in  week-day  church 
schools,  when  parents  request  the  same,  under  the  following 
conditions : 

Kecord  of  attendance  at  the  Week-Day  Church-School  shall  be 
kept,  a  final  examination  sustained  and  grades  recorded,  and  filed 
with  the  principal  of  High  School  according  to  the  marking  in  use 
in  High  School.  The  enrolment  at  the  beginning  of  each  semester 
shall  be  reported  to  the  Principal  of  the  High  School. 

Teachers  of  the  Week-Day  Church  Schools  shall  meet  the  scholastic 
and  professional  standards  as  to  preparation  and  ability  required  of 
teachers  employed  in  the  High  School,  such  qualifications  to  be  certi- 
fied in  writing  to  the  Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction. 

The  subject  matter  of  the  courses  offered  shall  be  left  to  each  indi- 
vidual church  or  synagogue  but  in  general  the  subject  matter  shall  be 
treated  from  the  historical  and  literary  point  of  view.  The  text  book 
shall  meet  the  scholastic  requirements  of  texts  of  high  school  grade 
and  a  copy  of  the  text  book  used  shall  be  filed  with  the  Superintend- 
ent of  Public  Instruction, 

Places  of  instruction  shall  be  under  the  direction  of  each  church  or 
synagogue,  but  it  is  recommended  that  a  room  of  schoollike  character, 
with  apparatus  and  equipment  shall  be  provided. 

The  time  of  the  meeting  of  the  Church-School  classes  shall  be  at 
the  discretion  of  each  church  or  synagogue,  but  it  shall  be  on  week 
days  and  not  at  the  time  of  the  regular  Sunday-school  session. 

No  more  than  %  units  of  credit  or  a  total  of  ^  units  shall  be 
allowed.  Mr  unit  of  credit  shall  mean  one  recitation  of  sixty  minuteg 
each  week,  carried  through  both  semesters  of  the  school  year,  or  a 
total  of  not  less  than  thirty-eight  recitations.  Credits  to  be  granted 
in  the  Departments  of  History  or  English. 

Enrolment.    In   23    commmiity   schools    (including   4 

high-school  classes)    2,620 

In  6  church  schools 180 


Total  enrolment  2,800 

Growth:  first  year,  600;  second  year,  200;  third  year,  700; 
fourth  year,  2,800. 

Two  kinds  of  schools  are  maintained,  the  community  coopera- 


78 


THE  WEEK-DAY  CHURCH-SCHOOL 


tive  schools,  and  the  separate  schools  conducted  by  six  churches, 
the  schedule  of  one  of  which  is  shown  below. 

Forty  per  cent  of  the  total  enrolment  consists  of  children  who 
are  not  enrolled  in  any  Sunday  school. 

Eighty-eight  classes  are  conducted  by  the  community  schools. 

Attendance  runs  from  90  to  95  per  cent  of  enrolment. 

Finances:  The  total  cost  runs  over  $5000  annually  which  is 
met  by  appropriations  by  the  Inter-Church  Federation  and  by 
a  special  campaign  for  subscriptions. 


Church  Developments.  Individual  churches  have  built  upon 
and  developed  the  general  plan  arranged  by  the  city  organization. 

St.  Marlins  Episcopal  Church.  Under  the  general  direction 
of  the  Board  of  Religious  Education  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal 
Church;  developed  as  an  experiment  station  in  week-day  work. 
One  employed  teacher  and  supervisor.* 

Plan.  Under  the  city  scheme  work  is  given  to  pupils  from 
the  fifth  grade  to  the  tenth  grades  inclusive,  on  the  following 
schedule : 


Monday 

2:00  P. 

M. 

Freshmen 

Course  11 

(( 

3:00  P. 

M. 

Sophomores 

Course  12 

Tuesday 

2:30  P. 

M. 

3rd  Grade 

Course  5 

if 

2:30  P. 

M. 

4th  Grade 

Service  League 

n 

3:15  P. 

M. 

4th  Grade 

Course  6 

Wednesday 

3:00  P. 

M. 

8th  Grade 

Course  10 

n 

3:00  P. 

M. 

7th  Grade 

Service  League 

ti 

3:45  P. 

M. 

7th  Grade 

Service  League 

11 

3:45  P. 

M. 

8th  Grade 

Course  9 

Thursday 

2:30  P. 

M. 

6th  Grade 

Course  8 

(( 

2:30  P. 

M. 

5th  Grade 

Service  League 

tt 

3:15  P. 

M. 

6th  Grade 

Service  League 

tt 

3:15  P. 

M. 

5th  Grade 

Course  7 

The  course  of  study  is  the  official  course  of  the  Episcopal 
church,  known  as  "The  Christian  Nurture  Series,"  the  different 
texts  being  given  in  the  above  schedule. 

The  courses  are  definitely  correlated  to  the  work  of  the  Sunday 
school  where  the  same  lessons  are  being  taught  by  the  following 


•MISB  Edith  H.  James,  St.  Mark's  Church,  Toledo,  Ohio. 


A  GROUP  OF  TYPICAL  PLANS  7^ 

method:  The  week-day  supervisor  provides  each  Sunday-school 
teacher,  at  the  beginning  of  the  month,  with  an  outline  of  the 
lessons  for  that  month  showing  the  portion,  or  aspect,  of  the 
lesson  which  is  to  be  covered  in  the  Sunday  school.  The  week- 
day work  then  follows  this  up  and  leads  it  into  activities  and 
expressional  work. 

Enrolment:   (Fall  of  1920)    115,  an  increase   of   300%   over  the 

preceding  year. 
Attendance:  89%  of  enrolment. 


III.      HAMMOND,    INDIANA 

Industrial  city,  within  a  short  distance  from  Chicago. 

The  Organization  conducting  schools  is  known  as  "The  Calumet 
District  Board  of  Religious  Education,"  composed  of  pastors 
of  churches  and  laymen. 

The  Board  employs  a  full-time  supervisor,  and  the  work  is 
also  under  the  direction  of  Professor  John  E.  Stout,  Ph.D.,  of 
Northwestern  University  as  Educational  Advisor. 

Fifty-one  teachers  are  employed,  most  of  them  being  public- 
school  teachers,  conducting  classes  in  the  extra-school  periods, 
and  paid  by  The  Board  of  Religious  Education. 

The  total  enrolment,  on  Jan.  5th,  1921,  was  1,660  children,  all 
of  whom  were  attending  four  one-half -hour  periods  every  week; 
this  is  over  40%  of  the  public-school  enrolment. 

The  classes  meet,  at  present,  in  rooms  provided  by  the  school 
board.  This  is  possible  under  the  schedule  of  the  schools  whereby 
one  half  the  pupils  have  programs  from  8.15  A.  M.  to  3.15  P.  M., 
and  one  half  from  9.15  to  4.15. 

The  cost.  Teachers'  salaries,  materials  and  other  expenses 
amount  to  $200.00  per  week.  This  money  is  secured  by  subscrip- 
tions made  by  interested  individuals  in  the  city. 

Attendance.  The  following  official  report  gives  the  facts  which 
the  church  school  reports  to  the  public  school  system  for  the 
month  of  December,  1920.  (It  should  be  understood  that  the 
only  reason  for  making  this  report  to  the  public  school  is  that 
the  latter  may  know  as  to  whether  children  are  attending  the 
church  school.) 


Boys 

Girls 

Total 

775 

791 

1566 

20 

16 

36 

11 

13 

24 

784 

794 

1578 

80  THE  WEEK-DAY  CHURCH-SCHOOL 

Hammond  City  Schools 

MONTHLY  REPORT   OF   CLASSES    FOR  RELIGIOUS   INSTRUCTION 

For  12th  month,  beginning  Dec.    1,   1920,  ending  Dec.   23,   1920. 
Number  of  days  Religious  Classes  were  in  session  during  month:  14. 


1.  Enrolment  first  day  of  month.... 

2.  Gain  in  enrolment  during  month . . 

3.  Loss  in  enrolment  during  month. 

4.  Net  enrolment  last  day  of  month. 

5.  Aggregate    days    attendance    dur- 
ing   month 9646         9675  19,292 

6.  Average    daily   attendance    (5    di- 
vided by  No.  days) 689  691  1306 

7.  Aggregate    days     absence     during 

month    1170         1145  2315 

8.  Average  daily  absence   (7  divided 

by  No.  days) 84  814  165 

9.  Per  cent  daily  attendance    (6   di- 
vided by  6  plus  8) 87  89  88 

A.  Number  of  days  teachers  were  absent  during  month 5 

B.  Number  days  taught  by  substitutes 4 

C.  Amount  expended  for  instruction  during  month $420 

D.  Amount  expended  for  supplies  during  month $200 

E.  Church  affiliation  of  teachers:  Baptist  7;  Catholic  j; 
Christian  7;  Episcopal^;  Evangelical  ^;  Lutheran  1;  Meth- 
odist 12',  Presbyterian  W;  others  £.     Total ^ 

F.  Number  meetings  of  Teachers'  Training  Class 3 


ENROLMENT  BY   SCHOOLS — CLASSES   FOR  RELIGIOUS   INSTRUCTION 


SCHOOL 

Central  . . 
Columbia.  . 
Franklin  . 
Irving  . . . . 
Lafayette 
Lincoln  . . 
Maywood    . 

KrVERSIDE     . 


Number 

Enrolment 

Teachers 

Morning 

Noon 

Afternoon 

Total 

3 

2 

1 

105 

3 

3 

3 

77 

2 

2 

2 

107 

6 

6 

250 

7 

5 

2 

250 

4 

4 

122 

6 

4 

2 

175 

3 

2 

1 

170 

A  GROUP  OF  TYPICAL  PLANS      81 

QPrrnnT  Number  Enrolment 

bbMUUii  Teachers    Morning        Noon     Afternoon     Total 

Wallace   ,         5  5  It  220 

Washington    ....  4  j_  2  102 

Grand  Total 43  26  12  9  1578 

I  declare  the  foregoing  report  is  true  and  correct. 

Signed  N.  F.  Forsyth, 
Director  of  Religious  Instruction 


IV.      CALUMET  DISTRICT  BOARD  OP  RELIGIOUS  EDUCATION 

In  addition  to  the  work  at  Hammond,  Indiana,  this  Board 
conducts  schools  at  East  Chicago,  Indiana  Harbor,  and  Whiting, 
Indiana. 

East  Chicago,  one  school,  100  pupils,  4  periods  weekly. 

Indiana  Harbor,  one  school,  140  pupils,  4  periods  weekly. 

Whiting,  two  schools,  225  pupils,  4  periods  weekly. 

In  the  first  two  the  classes  are  held  in  churches;  in  the  last 
in  the  public  schools. 

The  Board  is  responsible  for  the  work  in  the  four  cities  men- 
tioned, carrying  a  total  budget  of  $15,000  annually  for  approxi- 
mately 2000  pupils. 

The  Board  also  conducts  a  Community  Training  School  which 
meets  one  evening  of  every  week,  offering  courses  for  teachers 
and  social  workers. 


V.      CUYAHOGA  FALLS,  OHIO 

Small  city,  population  10,500,  near  Akron,  Ohio. 
Schools  for  week-day  religious  instruction  have  been  in  opera- 
tion since  the  Fall  of  1916. 
On  Wednesday  afternoons. 

The  Primary  Grades,  for  the  First  Period. 
The  Grammar  Grades,  for  the  Second  Period. 

All  children  in  public  schools  have  the  privilege  of  attending 
the  schools  of  religion,  on  the  above  schedule,  or  they  may  go  to 
the  Library,  or  to  their  homes  for  music  lessons,  or  remain  in 
school  for  regular  work. 

The  Methodist  Church,  with  165  enrolled,  employs  two  teachers 


82  THE  WEEK-DAY  CHURCH-SCHOOL 

who  are  each  paid  $3.00  and  $3.50  respectively  for  the  half  day^s 
■work  on  Wednesdays.  As  the  total  number  of  pupils,  165,  is 
divided  between  the  two  periods,  each  teacher  has  on  the  average 
40  to  a  class. 

In  practice  it  appears  that  children  attend  the  church  school 
which  is  nearest  their  particular  public  school. 

The  course  of  study  is  usually  similar  to  the  graded  Sunday-^ 
school  work  with  the  result  that,  since  no  special  adaptations 
or  differentiations  are  made  in  the  courses  in  the  two  institutions 
parents  tend  to  question  the  wisdom  or  necessity  of  sending 
children  to  both  schools.  Yet  they  realize  the  advantages  of  the 
week-day  work  over  the  Sunday  work,  and  the  pastors  are  con- 
vinced of  the  place  and  value  of  their  week-day  schools. 


VI.      SOMERVILLE,  N".  J. 

Organization.  A  local  Council  of  Religious  Education,  com- 
posed of  the  minister  and  two  laymen  from  each  church,  includ- 
ing the  Roman  Catholic  and  Hebrew. 

Initiation.  Representatives  of  the  Council  waited  on  school 
board  with  request;  members  of  Board  voted  unanimously  in 
favor.     Committee  worked  out  details  with  the  superintendent. 

Scheme:  Includes  grades  3-8. 

Children  excused  from  public  school  on  request  of  parents. 
Classes:   every  Wednesday,  leaving  public  school  at  11  A.  M. 

"Enrolment:  (at  first  session). 

First  &  Fourth  Reformed 93 

Second  Reformed  100 

Church  of  Immaculate  Conception    123 

Baptist    20 

St.  John's    (Prot.  Ep.) 35 

371 

All  classes  meet  in  churches. 


A  GROUP  OF  TYPICAL  PLANS      83 


VII.      NORTHFIELD,   MINN. 

A  relatively  small  village,  the  seat  of  Carleton  College. 

Beginning  in  January,  1920,  the  pastors  of  all  the  churches, 
including  both  the  Catholics  and  Protestants,  united  in  an  ap- 
peal to  the  superintendent  of  schools  to  set  aside  time  for  reli- 
gious instruction  of  school  pupils  in  churches. 


Wednesday  afternoons  devoted  to  religious  instruction. 

Children   excused   from   public   school   on   written   request   of 

parents. 

Work   confined   to   the   elementary   grades,   does   not   include 

high  sehooL 

Staff  of  teachers  selected  by  each  church.     Ninety  per  cent 

of    the   public-school   enrolment    is   in    the    week-day    church 

echools. 


Vin.      EVANSTON,  ILLINOIS 

A  suburb  of  Chicago,  seat  of  Northwestern  University,  where 
the  work  has  the  direction  of  the  department  of  Religious  Edu- 
cation at  the  University. 

The  organisation  consists  of  a  City  Council  of  Religious  Edu- 
cation, having  an  Executive  Committee  and  a  Board  of  Religious 
Education.  This  conducts  the  week-day  schools  and  a  community 
training  school. 

Classes  are  conducted  in  the  public-school  rooms,  daily  for 
the  five  days,  from  8.15  A.  M.  to  8.45.  The  plan  of  using  public 
schoolrooms  is  not  regarded  as  satisfactory  or  permanent. 

More  than  one  half  of  the  teachers  are  public-school  teachers 
who  are  paid  for  the  extra  time  by  the  city  Council  of  Religious 
Education;  the  rest  are  students  at  the  University  and  trained 
lay  workers  all  of  whom  are  paid.  Budget  calls  for  $15,000  for 
the  next  year's  work. 


84  THE  WEEK-DAY  CHURCH-SCHOOL 


IX.      OAK  PAEK,  ILLINOIS 

Similar  local  organization  to  Evanston,  but  a  different  plan  of 
operation. 

Pupils  may  be  excused  for  two  periods  each  week,  on  written 
request  of  parents,  to  attend  classes  in  the  church  schools. 

Classes  are  held  in  the  churches,  on  programs  parallel  to  those 
of   the  public  schools. 

Teachers  are  employed  for  full  time  for  this  work. 
Provisions   is   made   only   for   the   sixth,    seventh   and   eighth 
grades;   enrolment  730. 

X.      CLIFTON,    CINCINNATI,   OHIO 

Includes  grades  three,  four,  five  and  six. 
Schedule : 

Grade  III.  Tuesdays  1.15—2.00  P.  M. 

rv.  Tuesdays  2.00—3.00 

V.  Mondays    1.15—2.00 

VI.  Mondays   2.00—3.00 

XI.      BALTIMORE,    MD. 

Work  began  about  1915,  growing  out  of  Vacation  Bible  Schools 
held  in  the  Presbyterian  churches.     Now  under  a  local  board. 

Classes  meet  at  four  on  the  afternoons  on  Tuesday  and  Wlednes- 
day  and  on  Saturday  morning  and  afternoon,  in  seven  churches 
(probably  all  Presbyterian). 

Xn.      GRAND  RAPmS,  MICHIGAN 

Grace  Church,  Episcopal,  Grand  Rapids,  Michigan;  after- 
school  classes  for  all  grades. 

Total  enrolment,  approximately  168. 

Mondays,  after  school,  classes  for  Grades  9-1,  9-2. 

Tuesdays,  after  school,  classes  for  grades  2-1,  2-2,  3-1,  3-2. 

Wednesdays  after  school,  classes  for  grades  4-1,  4-2,  5-1,  5-2. 

Thursdays  after  school,  classes  for  grades  6-1,  6-2,  7-1,  7-2,  8-2. 

Fridays  after  school,  classes  for  grades  5-1,  5-2,  6-1,  6-2. 

This  church  employs  an  assistant,  who  has  had  public-school 
experience,  in  charge  of  the  week-day  work. 

Budget:  $1750. 


'A  GROUP  OF  TYPICAL  PLANS      85 


Xni.      NEW  YORK  CITT 

Here  the  work  has  been  stimnlated  by  The  Interdenomina- 
tional Committee  on  Week-day  Religious  Instruction,*  which 
cooperating  with  local  organizations  and  bodies  for  religious 
education  has  conducted  a  campaign  of  education,  has  instituted 
several  important  surveys,  and  has  brought  the  plan  of  week-day 
work  before  the  city  Board  of  Education.  The  schools  in  the 
city  may  be  classified  in  two  groups: 

1.  Schools  conducted  by  The  Protestant  Teachers'  Association: 
Seventeen  schools  organized  for  small  community  units. 
Fort  Greorge  Presbyterian;  Bethany  Presbj'terian ;  Calvary 
Parish  House  (School  for  Deaf);  Bedford  Park  Presbyterian; 
St.  Mary's  Protestant  Episcopal;  Greenwich  Presbyterian;  St. 
Andrew's  Methodist  Episcopal;  Crawford  Memorial  Methodist 
Episcopal;  Holy  Trinity  Protestant  Episcopal;  Calvary  Meth- 
odist Episcopal;  Mott  Avenue  Methodist  Episcopal;  Union 
Reformed;  Hunts  Point  Presbyterian;  Church  of  the  Puritans; 
Emmanuel;  Church  of  the  Comforter;  Cornell  Memorial. 

2.  Schools  conducted  by  separate  churches. 

Thirty-three  t  schools,  usually  meeting  in  Sunday-school  rooms. 
Some  of  these  schools  are  of  long  standing,  especially  the 
first  two. 

Church  of  the  Atonement  Lutheran;  Christ  Lutheran;  St. 
James'  Methodist  Episcopal;  Chelsea  Methodist  Episcopal;  Jan 
Hu9  Presbyterian;  John  Hall  Memorial  Presbyterian;  St. 
Luke 's  Protestant  Episcopal ;  Union  Methodist  Episcopal ;  West 
End  Presbyterian;  Spring  Street  Presbyterian;  Second  Church 
Disciples  of  Christ;  Church  of  Epiphany  Lutheran;  Holy 
Trinity  Lutheran;  St.  John's  Lutheran;  Our  Saviour  Lutheran; 
St.  Thomas'  Lutheran;  Emmanuel  Lutheran;  St.  John's  Lu- 
theran, Bronx;  Advent  Lutheran;  Bethany  Lutheran,  Bronx; 
Ascension  Presbyterian;  Christ  Presbyterian;  Covenant  Pres- 
byterian; Mariners'  Temple;  Judson  Memorial  Baptist;  Judson 
Memorial  Neighborhood  House;  Second  Avenue  Baptist;  Cen- 
tral Park  Baptist;  First  Hungarian;  Czecho-Slovsik;  Fordham 
Italian;  Harlem  Baptist;  Sixteenth  Baptist. 
A  great  many  other  churches  have  their  committees  formed  and 
will  open  their  week-day  sessions  very  shortly. 

Practically  all  the  schools  are  held  at  periods  following  the 
regular  program  of  the  day  in  public  school. 

♦See  the  account  of  this  organization   in   Cliapter  XXIII. 

t  Figures  for  January,  1921 ;  many  other  cliurches  are  organizing  their 
committees,  and  local  reports  indicate  a  very  much  larger  number  of 
schools  at  an  early  date. 


66  THE  WEEK-DAY  CHURCH-SCHOOL 


Xrv.      ELMIRA,  N.  T.* 

Pursuant  to  the  action  of  the  State  Board  of  Regents,  the 
local  school  board  took  the  initiative  by  recognizing  Bible,  Music, 
and  certain  other  subjects  as  extension  work  for  high-school  stu- 
dents, giving  4  regent  credits  for  four  years'  work  of  two  and 
one-half  hours'  study  per  week.  The  Board  recommends  a  sylla- 
bus of  study  based  on  the  University  of  Chicago  Constructive 
Series,  and  provides  for  supervised  examinations.  The  classes 
may  be  held  at  any  time  under  certain  educational  conditions,  and 
parents  must  make  written  request,  on  regular  form,  agrsein;^  to 
comply  with  the  conditions  of  the  Board. 

XV.      CJHICAGO 

Schools  conducted  by  the  Hyde  Park   Council  of  Churches. 

For  after-school  classes,  providing  one  period  each  week  per 
pupil.  Four  churches  cooperating  to  teach  the  children  of  four 
public  schools: 

School                     Class-place  Mon.  Tues.  "Wed.  Thurs. 

Kenwood St.  Paul's  Ch.  ,           A  B  C          D 

Ray H.  P.  Baptist  '           D  A  B          C 

Shakespeare Kenwood  Evan.           C  D  A          B 

Kosminski Y.  M.  C.  A.                B  C  D          A 

Explanation :     The  capital  letters  refer  to  grades  and  teachers : 

A.  Public  school  grades  1  &  2,  taught  by  Miss  J — . 

B.  Public  school  grades  3  &  4,  taught  by  Miss  G — . 
•C.  Public  school  grades  5  &  6,  taught  by  Mrs.  L — . 

D.  Public  school  grades  7  &  8,  taught  by  Miss  C — . 

APPROACHES  TO  WEEK-DAT  SCHOOLS 

Not  all  systems  of  week-day  instruction  spring  full-grown 
from  the. hopes  and  planning  of  enthusiasts  in  communities;  some 
of  them  grow  quite  gradually.  By  steps  of  various  kinds  which 
make  provision  for  week-day  programs  there  is  developed,  here 
and  there,  an  institution  which  is  actually  doing  regular  sys- 
tematic instruciion  and  training  through  the  week. 

Instances  which  are  only  typical  of  what  is  taking  place  in 
many  centers  may  be  cited: 

*  Information  furnished  by  Harry  Webb  Farrington,  New  York. 


A  GFROUP  OF  TYPICAL  PLANS  87 

1.  Church  Proorams:.  At  Bavenswood,  Chicago,  the  Pres- 
byterian Church  has  for  eight  years  conducted  Children's  Daily 
Chapel,  every  school  day,  from  8.30  to  8.45  A.  M.  Children 
attend  on  their  way  to  the  public  schools.  It  is  evident  that  they 
enjoy  this  daily  period  of  worship,  that  they  are  being  trained 
in  worship  and  that  this  is  quite  an  effective  mode  of  instruction. 

Waveland  Avenue  Congregational  Church,  Chicago,  conducts 
every  Wednesday  afternoon  what  is  called  a  "Juvenile  Chautau- 
qua" for  children,  with  a  program  of  story-telling,  games  and 
a  period  of  worship. 

La  Grange,  III.,  Baptist  Church  has  every  Wednesday  after- 
noon its  "continuation  school"  for  children  of  the  public  schools. 
This  is  essentially  a  school  of  religious  training  although  it  has 
large  elements  of  freedom  of  curriculum. 

Such  instances  are  cited,  in  recognition  of  the  fact  that  they 
are  only  a  very  few  cases  out  of  the  many  which  might  be  men- 
tioned from  almost  every  community  in  the  Northern  States, 
but  simply  to  remind  ourselves  that  it  is  not  so  difficult  as  we 
sometimes  think  to  take  the  first  steps  in  extending  the  child's 
program  of  instruction  into  the  fields  of  religion.  One  can 
readily  see  how  such  ventures  as  these  should  lead  to  a  regular 
plan  of  daily  work. 

2.  Community  ventures.  In  many  a  community  one  will  be 
met  with  opposition  to  the  plan  of  week-day  work,  not  on 
the  ground  that  it  is  unnecessary  or  undesirable,  but  on  the 
ground  that  it  is  impossible.  Of  course  the  best  answer  is  to 
show  that  it  is  possible.  And  when  the  objection  is  that  chil- 
dren's programs  are  so  crowded,  or  their  school  time  is  so  pressing 
that  nothing  further  could  be  added,  then  it  is  necessary  to  show 
that,  if  something  further  is  added,  so  far  from  finding  it  impos- 
sible or  refusing  to  take  additional  programs  children  usually 
welcome  them  freely.  Such  a  demonstration  was  made  at  Man- 
chester, New  Hampshire,  by  the  secretary  of  the  state  Sunday 
School  Association.  It  was  done  to  show,  in  his  words,  that  "if 
the  churches  want  to  do  it,  it  is  possible  to  plan  some  week-day 
work,  as  matters  now  stand  without  asking  further  concessions 
from  the  public-school  program.  A  series  of  seven  "Story 
Hours"  was  arranged,  to  take  place  immediately  on  the  adjourn- 
ment of  school  at  3.30  on  seven  successive  school  days.  These 
"Story  Hours"  were  held  in  different  parts  of  the  city  so  as  to 
meet  the  needs  of  different  schools.  At  them  there  was  an  aver- 
age attendance  of  125  public-school  pupils. 


CHAPTER  X 

'A  CHUKCH  SUMMER  SCHOOL 

[Note;  "The  following  report  of  the  Summer  School  of  Religious 
Education,"  conducted  by  the  First  Lutheran  Church,  Dayton,  Ohio,  was 
prepared,  in  large  part,  by  the  pastor  of  the  church,  the  Rev.  Miles  H. 
Krumbine,] 

THE  ORIGIN  OF  THE  SUMMER  SCHOOL  OF  RELIGIOUS  EDUCATTON" 

During  Holy  Week  of  1919  a  group  of  men  met  in  informal 
conference  to  discuss  some  of  the  vital  problems  of  the  First 
Lutheran  Church.  The  discussion  hinged  on  the  deplorable 
neglect  of  our  young  people.  At  the  second  meeting  a  plan  for 
a  Summer  School  of  Religious  Education  was  presented.  The 
plan  was  outlined  in  more  or  less  detail  and  the  general  prin- 
ciples were  sketched,  so  that  the  men  might  understand  the  aims 
and  purposes  of  such  a  School.  The  plan  was  ratified  unani- 
mously and  the  Church  Council  was  entreated  to  give  it  official 
sanction. 

In  October  1919,  $1500  was  provided  in  the  Church  Budget 
for  such  a  School.  Immediately  after  the  raising  of  the  Budget, 
definite  steps  were  taken  to  set  up  an  organization  and  arrange 
an  educational  program  that  would  adequately  fulfill  the  obli- 
gations laid  upon  us  by  the  Church;  $2500  was  the  total  cost. 
Teachers  received  higher  salaries  than  in  the  public  schools. 

The  first  step  the  Church  Council  took  was  to  appoint  a  Com- 
mittee of  three  headed  by  a  Director  of  the  Summer  School  and 
composed  of  Mr.  Ezra  M.  Kuhns,  Dr.  D.  Frank  Garland  and 
Reverend  Miles  H.  Krumbine,  which  Committee  would  have  fuU 
and  complete  charge  of  the  work  of  the  School  and  would  control 
the  expenditure  of  the  Budget  allowance. 

SETTING  UP  THE  ORGANIZATTON 

A  Committee,  appointed  by  the  Church  Council  to  operate  the 
Summer  School,  selected  a  Principal  of  the  school  and  teachers. 
The  ptrinciple  that  guided  in  selecting  the  teachers  was  this: 
that  for  each  grade  the  best  teacher  of  that  grade  available  in 

88 


A  CHURCH  SUMMER  SCHOOL  89 

Dayton  be  selected  and  that  in  case  there  was  a  good  teacher  in. 
that  grade  in  the  First  Lutheran  Church,  that  teacher  be  favored. 

Pursuing  this  principle,  it  was  possible  to  select  practically 
all  our  teachers  from  the  membership  of  our  own  congregation^ 

Mr.  Charles  Sebold  was  previously  engaged  by  the  Church 
Council  as  Assistant  to  the  Pastor,  for  the  Summer,  his  time  dur- 
ing the  period  of  the  Summer  School  being  allotted  to  the  school. 

Early  in  the  Spring,  the  Principal,  IVIiss  Boyer,  made  a  trip 
to  Madison,  Wisconsin,  to  come  into  direct  contact  with  the 
Madison  Day  School  of  Religious  Education.  This  is  a  com- 
munity project,  participated  in  by  a  gi'eat  many  churches.  Two 
years  previous,  Mr.  Krumbine,  while  a  student  at  the  University 
of  Wisconsin,  had  made  a  thorough  study  of  the  Madison  School. 
As  a  result  of  this  twofold  study,  the  Madison  program  was  used 
as  a  guide.  Inquiry  was  made  from  the  leading  Religious  Edu- 
cators of  the  country,  including  such  men  as  Cope,  Coe,  Weigle, 
Gates,  Athearn  and  Honline. 

The  committee  having  charge  of  the  Summer  School,  early  in 
the  Spring  issued  a  leaflet,  describing  the  school  and  outlining 
the  program  of  education.  The  salient  points  of  this  leaflet 
follow : — 

The  Purpose  of  the  School: 

To  give  the  pupils  the  benefit  of  a  thorough  training  in  Eeligion, 

based  on  educational  methods  that  are  valid. 

To  teach  the  pupils  to  use  the  Bible  for  character  building. 

To  help  the  pupils  to  a  genuine  Christian  experience  that  will 

issue  in  faithful  discipleship. 

The  Organization  of  the  School: 

Reverend  Miles  H.  Krumbine,  Director  of  the  School. 

Miss  Lura  Boyer,  Principal  of  the  School. 

Mr.  Chas.  Sebold,  Director  of  Recreation;   Mr.  Ezra  M.  Kuhns, 

Dr.  D.  Frank  Garland,  Rev.  Miles  H.  Krumbine,  Committee. 

The  Operation  of  the  Scliool: 

Sessions  are  held  daily  (except  Saturday),  from  8:30  A.  M.  to 
11:30  A.  M. 

Each  pupil  ^s  expected  to  bring  (daily)  a  Bible.     No  text  books 
will  be  placed  in  the  pupil's  hands — pupils  of  the  High  School 
grade  excepted.     There  will  be  no  ''home  work." 
The  pupils  of  the  High  School  grade  are  supplied  with  Fosdick's 
''Manhood  of  the  Master"  as  a  text. 

The  pupils  of  all  the  grades  use  note  books  very  freely,  both  in 
Bible  study  and  Mission  study  and  Church  history.  Maps,  black- 
boards, pictures  and  models  will  also  be  used  regularly. 


90  THE  WEEK-DAY  CHURCH-SCHOOL 

The  dramatization  of  Bible  stories  will  feature  much  of  the  class 
work.     Some  of  these  stories  will  be  dramatized  at  the  Assembly. 

The  Membership  of  the  School: 

The  School  is  conducted  and  financed  bj  the  First  Lutheran 
Church.  Children  from  First  Lutheran  homes  are  most  ear- 
nestly invited  to  enroll.  We  expect  the  parents  to  make  every 
effort  to  have  their  children  attend  regularly. 
Any  child  in  Dayton  is  welcomed  to  the  advantages  the  school 
offers  and  invited  to  enroll. 

There  will  be  no  charge  of  any  kind  for  attendance.  Regular 
attendance  is  expected.  Suitable  discipline,  essential  to  the  suc- 
cess and  efficiency  of  the  school,  will  be  maintained.  Bi-weekly 
reports  will  be  issued. 

Above  all,  we  trust  we  may  have  the  earnest  cooperation  of  all 
the  parents. 

THE   DAILY   PROGRAM 

The  school  was  organized  with  kindergarten,  eight  elementary 
grades  and  one  high-school  class,  a  total  of  ten  classes.  In  order 
to  gain  a  view  of  the  daily  program  it  will  be  necessary  to  exhibit 
the  schedule  of  the  kindergi^en,  one  of  the  eight  grades  and  the 
high  school  only. 

KINDERGAETEN 

8:30 — ^Prayer.    Salute  to  the  flag.     Good-moming  songs.     Mem- 
ory verses.     Bible  study. 

9:00 — ^Rest  period. 

9:10— Table  period. 

9:45 — Marching  period. 
10:00— Recess. 

10:10 — Story  period.     Memory  work.     Psalm  23. 
10:30 — Dramatization  of  Bible  stories.     Games. 
11:00 — Dismissal  exercises  and  closing  prayer. 

GRADE  3 

8:30 — ^Prayer.     Bible  study: —  Kinsman  stories.     Brother  stories. 

Parents  and  children  stories.     Jesus  and  his  friends. 
9:30 — Memory  work: 

Ten  Commandments.     Psalm  24.     St.  Matthew  V:l-12. 
9:45 — Recreation  period. 
9:55 — The  Assembly:     a.  Devotional  period. 

b.  Study  of  hymns. 
10:35— Mission  Study: 

"Heroes  of  Modern  Missions"   (selected) 
11:05 — "Child  Religion  in  song  and  story.'' 
11:30— Dismissal. 


A  CHURCH  SUMMER  SCHOOL  91 

HIGH  SCHOOL  GRADE 

8:45— Prayer.     Bible  Study:— "The  Life  of  Christ/*    Stalker's 
''Life   of   Christ"    and   ''Manhood   of   the   Master*'   by 
Fosdick,  will  be  used  as  texts. 
9 :  45 — ^Dismissal. 
The  detailed  work  in  each  ^ade  was  carefully  worked  out, 
with  a  rich  variety  of  materials  in  stories,  reading,  memory 
work,  hymns  and  activities.* 

It  is  important,  however,  to  call  attention  to  several  items 
that  are  not  adequately  set  forth  in  the  preceding  program. 

1.  The  Dramatization  of  Bible  Stories.  Beginning  with  the  second 
week  the  dramatization  of  Bible  stories  became  a  regular  part  of  our 
daily  program.  With  the  help  of  the  teacher  the  pupils  of  any  given 
grade  selected  a  certain  passage  of  Scripture  possessed  of  dramatic 
qualities.  The  pupils  then  divided  it  into  scenes,  grouping  the  action 
of  the  story  as  they  thought  it  ought  to  be  portrayed. 

Next  the  class  as  a  whole,  or  some  members  of  it,  wrote  the  scenes. 
The  result  of  this  effort  was  ratified  by  the  class  usually  after  con- 
siderable revision. 

The  selection  of  the  actors  for  the  different  parts  was  by  popular 
vote.  After  one  or  two  rehearsals  the  members  selected  the  costumes 
which  usually  were  made  of  materials  that  could  be  found  around 
the  house. 

After  the  play  was  well  learned  it  was  presented  at  the  Assembly 
Period  as  a  part  of  our  devotional  program,  to  the  great  delight  and 
profit  of  the  entire  school. 

The  dramatization  of  Bible  stories  is  in  reality  teaching  Bible  truth 
by  action.  It  was  one  of  the  most  attractive  features  of  our  Summer 
School.  Grades  5,  6,  7,  8,  together  with  the  High  School  group,  all 
enjoyed  dramatizing  such  stories  as  "Tales  of  Queen  Esther,"  "The 
Great  Supper,"  "The  Parable  of  the  Talents,"  "The  Good  Samari- 
tan," "The  Prodigal  Son,"  and  "The  Meeting  of  Paul  and 
Timothy. ' ' 

2.  The  Composite  Prayer.  In  order  to  get  away  from  "Worship 
by  proxy,"  it  was  thought  advisable  to  institute  a  system  of  Com- 
posite Prayers.  Each  teacher  secured,  during  the  first  week  of  school, 
a  short  prayer  from  each  pupil  in  the  class,  which  expressed  a  heart- 
felt desire  brought  in  petition  to  God. 

The  vari®us  prayers  of  the  pupils  of  any  given  class  were  then 
combined  by  the  teachers  and  out  of  them,  in  strict  adherence  to 
the  language  and  ideas  of  the  children,  the  teacher  constructed  a 
Composite  Prayer.    This  prayer  was  later  learned  by  the  class  and 

*  A  carefully  detailed  account  of  the  work  in  each  grade  was  published 
in  "Religious  Education"  for  February,  1920.  The  greater  part  of  the 
curriculum  is  given  in  Chapter  XIV,  "Curricula  in  Use,"  of  this  book. 


92  THE  WEEK-DAT  CKURCH-SCHOOL 

used  ag  a  class  prayer.     Each  class  presented  its  prayer  at  the  As- 
sembly, at  one  time  or  another. 

It  was  discovered  later  that  a  great  many  of  the  children  used 
the  Composite   Prayer  in  their  private   devotion   at  home. 

3.  Public  Prayer.  It  was  found,  shortly  after  the  school  began 
that  the  pupils  very  readily  responded  to  an  invitation  to  lead  in 
public  prayer.  Various  grades  practiced  this  method  of  opening 
their  class  period  in  the  morning.  In  the  High  School  grade,  through 
the  entire  session  of  the  School,  the  morning  prayer  was  offered  by 
a  pupil.  At  least  ten  pupils  lead  in  public  prayer  at  the  Assembly 
period.  These  were  chiefly  from  the  High  School  grade,  though  one 
or  two  came  from  other  grades. 

In  no  case  did  any  pupil  refuse  an  invitation  to  lead  in  public 
prayer.  The  prayers  in  each  case  were  devout,  beautiful  and  in- 
spiring. 

4.  The  Assembly  Period.  Immediately  after  the  recreation  period 
all  the  pupils  went  to  their  several  classrooms  and  arranged  them- 
selves in  line  by  two's.  Two  boys,  usually  from  the  seventii  or 
eighth  grade,  carried,  the  one  a  Christian  flag  and  the  other  the 
American  flag;  then  in  the  order  of  seniority  the  various  classes 
marched  into  the  Church  Auditorium,  following  the  flags  and  keep- 
ing step  to  a  processional  which  was  either  the  ' '  Battle  Hymn  of  the 
Eepublie, '^  *' Onward,  Christian  Soldiers,"  ''America,  the  Beau- 
tiful," or  ''Holy,  Holy,  Holy,  Lord  God  Almighty."  Each  pupil 
had  a  specific  place  in  a  specific  pew,  to  which  place  the  pupil 
inarched.  The  entire  school  being  located,  the  processional  hymn 
was  sung  by  the  school. 

Then  followed  the  morning  prayer,  which  after  the  second  day  of 
the  school  was  always  led  by  one  of  the  pupils  of  the  higher  grades. 

After  the  prayer  the  entire  school  made  its  pledge  to  the  Christian 
flag.     The  pledge  follows: 

"I  pledge  allegiance  to  my  flag  and  to  the  Savior  for  whose 
Kingdom  it  stands,  one  brotherhood  uniting  all  mankind  in  service 
and  love." 

The  school  was  then  seated  and  one  of  the  pupils  told  a  Bible 
Story.  The  morning  hymn  followed  the  Bible  Story.  After  the 
hymn  one  of  the  pupils  told  the  Mission  Story,  which  was  followed 
by  the  pledge  to  the  American  flag.  Two  verses  of  America  or  the 
Star  Spangled  Banner  were  sung  and  the  benediction  pronounced. 

The  entire  school  then  marched  out  of  the  auditorium  to  the  music 
of  Kipling's  Eecessional,  passing  under  the  arched  Christian  and 
American  flags  and  saluting  as  they  did  so. 

5.  The  Hymn  Period.  At  the  Hymn  Period  the  great  hymns  of 
the  Christian  Church  were  taught.     Such  hymns  as  the  following: 


A  CHURCH  SUMMER  SCHOOL  93 

Onward,  Christian  Soldiers 

Battle  Hymn  of  the  Republic 

America,  the  Beautiful 

Holy,  Holy,  Holy,  Lord  Gk)d  Almighty 

Come,  Thou  Almighty  King 

What  a  Friend  We  Have  in  Jesus 

More  Love  to  Thee 

Saviour,  Like  a  Shepherd 

Ninety  and  Nine 

When  He  Cometh  ^ 

Kipling 's  Recessional 

Holy,  Holy,  Holy,  Lord  God  of  Hosts 

were  thoroughly  memorized  by  the  entire  schooL 

Besults.  The  attendance  maintained  was  an  average  of  from 
ninety-one  to  ninety-seven  per  cent  of  the  enrolment.  The  enrolment 
was  one  hundred  forty-seven.  Some  of  the  children  came  for  a  dis- 
tance of  ten  miles,  and  during  the  street-car  strike  which  lasted  two 
weeks  during  the  session  of  the  school  many  of  these  pupils  had  to 
walk.  Seventy-five  pupils  did  not  miss  a  single  day.  PracticaUy 
none  of  the  pupils  were  ever  tardy. 

Of  the  enrolment,  eighty-six  were  girls  and  sixty-one  were  boys, 
making  a  total  of  one  hundred  forty-seven.  Of  this  number  twenty- 
seven  were  not  from  First  Lutheran  families. 

If  enthusiasm  and  interest  are  evidences  of  success,  then  our  proj- 
ect was  highly  successful.  There  are  on  file  in  the  offices  of  the 
First  Lutheran  Church  literally  dozens  of  letters  from  the  parents 
expressing  their  deepest  appreciation  of  the  benefit  of  the  school  to 
the  lives  of  their  children. 


CHAPTER  XI 
HOW  TO  ORGANIZE 

The  method  of  organization  will  depend  on  the  type  of  schools 
or  of  system  of  schools  to  be  developed.  Following  the  analysis 
of  types,  already  given,  we  shall  find  most  of  the  conditions  of 
organization  developed  under  the  first  type,  as  follows,  with  some 
changes  in  the  other  two : 

I.      ORGANIZING  THE  INTEElDENOMINATIONAIi  COMMUNITT  SCHOOL 

1.  Get  the  Facts.  Become  familiar  with  current  plans  and  un- 
derlying principles;  help  others  to  same  knowledge.  Get 
the  facts  regarding  schools  in  general,  also  facts  regarding 
your  own  community.* 

2.  Organize  a  Working  Nucleus.  Bring  together  the  small  work- 
ing body  of  persons  already  interested  and  capable  of  lead- 
ership. Mature  your  plans  with  them;  be  sure  that  the 
leading  pastors  are  included,  if  they  can  be  interested. 

3.  Begin  Preliminary  Campaign. 

(1)  Spreading  information  on  general  plan,  through  the 
pulpit,  by  sermons  on  need  of  religious  education,  and 
by  information  on  plans  in  other  places;  by  the  press, 
especially  the  local  papers;  by  books  and  circulars, 
helping  every  one  to  have  full  information  at  hand;t 
by  use  of  periodicals  %  which  describe  current  work  in 
this  field;  by  frequent  conferences  which  bring  larger 
numbers  of  interested  persons  into  the  fii'st  nucleus. 

(2)  Gathering  facts  as  to:  present  amount  of  religious  in- 
struction, e.g.,  studies  similar,  and  applied  locally,  to 
those  in  Chapters  I  and  II. 

(3)  Conferences  with  public-school  officials;  to  familiarize 
them  thoroughly  with  the  plan  in  other  places,  to  make 

*  As  to  desirable  facts,  and  method  of  survey,  see  "A  Survey  of  Re- 
ligious  Education,"   by   W.   C.    Bower. 

t  Get  circulars  from  the  denominational  boards. 

X  Particularly  "Religious  Education"   and  "The  Church   School." 

94 


HOW  TO  ORGANIZE  95 

perfectly  clear  to  them  the  fact  that  this  plan  does  not 
interfere  with  the  freedom  of  either  church  or  school, 
and  to  secure  their  cooperation  and  their  agreement  as 
to  all  relations  to  the  school  system. 
(4)  Conferences  with  pastors  and  leaders  until  there  is 
agreement  on  plan. 

4.  Community  Mass  Meeting. 

(1)  Called  by  either  a  group  of  laymen,  by  Church  Federa- 
tion, Ministerial  Association,  School  Board;  whatever 
will  be  most  helpful. 

(2)  Program  carefully  planned  in  advance. 

(3)  Plan  and  community  facts  set  before  meeting. 
Expect  and  prepare  for  objections,  difficulties,  obstruc- 
tion,   especially   familiar    plea:      "This    community   is 
different." 

(4)  Plan  backed  by  one  good  general  statement,  and  fol- 
lowed by  endorsements  representing  several  churches 
and  the  schools. 

(5)  Appointment  of  Committee  to  prepare  detailed  plan. 

5.  Details  of  the  Plan  Prepared  hy  Committee. 

(1)  Selection  of  type  of  schools  (see  Ch.  V.). 

(2)  Determination  of  number  of  schools. 

(3)  Schedule  of  classes. 

(4)  Nomination  of  Board  of  Religious  Education. 

(5)  Erection  of  Committee  to  raise  necessary  funds. 

6.  Community  Adoption  of  Plan. 

(1)  Plan  presented  in  detail  at  a  second  public  meeting. 

(2)  Election  of  Board  of  Religious  Education. 

(3)  Election  of  Committee  on  Finance. 

7.  Organization  of  the  Board  of  Religious  Education, 

(1)  Chairman. 

(2)  Vice-Chairman. 

(3)  Secretary. 

(4)  Treasurer 

(5)  Committees  :  Executive,  consisting  of  Chairman,  Vice- 
chairman,  Secretary,  Treasurer,  and  heads  of  Commit- 
tees. The  Executive  Committee,  in  addition  to  its  func- 
tions of  general  oversight,  would  advertise  the  plan 
and  provide  for  its  actual  inception  and  for  the  dis- 
bursement of  funds. 

(6)  Program:  To  set  up  the  entire  schedule,  working  out 
relationships  toward  the  public  schools  and  the  church 


96  THE  WEEK-DAY  CHURCH-SCHOOL 

schools  and  between  the  different  bodies  and  institutions 
represented. 

(7)  Property:  Responsible  for  new  buildings,  equipment, 
etc.,  or  for  the  use  and  care  of  buildings  and  equipment 
lent  or  rented  to  the  Council. 

(8)  Finance:  To  secure  the  funds  necessary  for  buildings, 
salaries  of  supervisors  and  teachers,  equipment,  print- 
ing and  propaganda. 

(9)  Publicity:  Informing  parents  directly  as  well  as 
through   press. 

(10)  General  Relationships:  To  keep  the  council  in- 
formed on  educational  advance  and  similar  work  in 
other  places  and  preparing  standards  and  relationships 
with  this  work  elsewhere.  Relationships  to  public- 
school  system. 

(11)  Curriculum:  A  general  committee  to  pass  on  the  edu- 
cational standards  for  courses  of  study  and  plans  of 
work,  with  subcommittees  as  may  be  necessary,  to  agree 
upon  courses  for  groups. 

(12)  Faculty:  To  select  the  supervising  and  teaching  staff. 

(13)  Training:  To  carry  forward  plans  for  the  preparation 
of  teachers. 

(14)  Enrolment:  To  secure,  through  parents,  the  names  of 
children,  classifying  and  enrolling  them  in  classes  and 
providing  for  the  records  of  their  attendance  and  work. 

8.  Selection  of  Staff,  by  the  Board  of  Religious  Education. 

(1)  Supervisor,  or  Director  of  Religious  Education  on  sal- 
ary. Professionally  trained.  In  immediate  charge  of 
schools.  Organizing  curriculum,  with  teachers  and 
committee  of  the  Board  responsible  directly  to  the 
Board. 

(2)  Teachers.     On  salary,  Professionally  trained. 

9.  Provision  of  Facilities. 
(1)   Classrooms: 

Convenient  to  public  schools. 
Ample  in  size. 

As  well  lighted  as  public-school  rooms. 
Space  for  class  and  group  activities. 
(2)   Equipment  of  Rooms: 

Seats  and  desks,  similar  to  regular  schools. 
Blackboards,   maps,   tables,   facilities   and   materials 
for  hand  work. 


HOW  TO  ORGANIZE  97, 

(3)  Equipment  of  ofiSce: 

Necessary  furniture  and  clerical  tools. 
Records,  form  cards,  etc.,  for  school  accounting. 

10.  Inaugurating  the  Work. 

(1)  Circulating  pamphlet  of  information  to  all  parents, 
with  "Request  Card"  (see  Chapter  on  "Forms")  au- 
thorizing absence  of  child  from  public  school  to  attend 
week-day  school  of  religion. 

(2)  Advertising  the  day  when  classes  begin. 

(3)  Enrolling  pupils.     Assignments  to  classes. 

11.  Securing  Home  Cooperation. 

(1)  Community  reception  to  Supervisor  and  Teachers. 

(2)  Organization  of  "Week-day  School  Association  of  Par- 
ents and  Teachers"  to :  maintain  close  cooperative  rela- 
tions, discover  ways  of  mutual  aid,  conduct  frequent 
conferences  between  parents  and  teachers  on  problems 
of  home,  school  and  community. 

(3)  Some  schools  employ  a  "Home  Visitor"  who  calls  at  all 
homes,  explaining  school  plan,  conferring  personally 
with  parents,  and  following  up  all  absentees. 

12.  Securing  Church  Cooperation. 

(1)  Sunday-school  superintendents  informed  by  reports. 

(2)  Sunday-school  teachers  kept  informed  on  work  of 
pupils  in  week-day  school. 

(3)  Sunday-school  teachers  taught;  trained  by  the  staff  of 
week-day  school. 

(4)  Church  brought  into  cooperation  by  regular  appropria- 
tions for  support  of  week-day  school. 

(5)  Church  informed  by  special  reports  and  accounts  of 
work  at  meetings. 

(6)  Pastors  serving  on  committee,  visiting  schools. 

13.  Developing  Efficiencies. 

(1)  Community  Training  Class. 

Extending  religious  instruction  to  adults. 

Training  cooperators  with  the  schools,  assistance,  etc. 

Training  religious  educators  for  work  in  churches. 

(2)  Teachers'  library. 

Books  and  periodicals  to  enable  them   to  keep  abreast  of 
educational  development  in  their  work. 

(3)  Frequent  meetings  of  Board  to  direct  and  keep  in  touch 
with  school  work,  and  with  educational  progress. 

(4)  Annual  or  Quarterly  Community  meetings. 


98  THE  WEEK-DAY  CHURCH-SCHOOL 

14.  Maintaining  Standards. 

Reports  to  the  public:  financial,  educational,  religious. 
Steady  endeavor  to  increase  public  intelligence  and  ele- 
vate popular  ideals  on  religious  education. 
Steady  endeavor  to  improve  schools  in  light  of  wider 
experience  in  other  communities  and  of  educational 
leaders. 

n.      THE  CHURCH  GROUP  SCHOOLS 

Usually  either  a  (1)  cooperative  effort  by  a  number  of  churches 
so  that  each  one  may  maintain  its  own  classes,  or  (2)  a 
federation  of  churches  so  that  schools  may  be  conducted,  on  an 
interdenominational  plan,  under  their  direct  control. 

Group  one  is  usually  organized  by  the  pastors  of  the  churches 
who,  by  conference  with  the  proper  school  authorities,  agree  upon 
a  schedule  for  classes,  fixing  the  hours  at  which  the  different 
grades  may  be  excused  from  regular  school  work. 

The  system  at  Batavia,  111.,  described  elsewhere,  gives  a  good 
example. 

The  method  of  procedure  for  a  system  of  schools  in  separate 
churches  would  involve  many  of  the  points  already  suggested 
under  I,  The  Interdenominational  Community  System,  except 
that  the  group  standing  back  of  the  schools  is  the  church  con- 
stituencies instead  of  the  community.  There  would  be  the  same 
necessity  for  the  first  three  steps,  following  which  would  be: 

1.  Securing  the  general  adoption  of  a  plan  by  the  churches. 

2.  Working  out  definite  details  of  schedules. 

3.  Committing  churches,  or  church  boards  to  adoption  and 
support  of  the  system. 

4.  Organization  of  committees  or  selection  of  responsible 
persons  to  care  for:  Programs  and  Schedules,  Property, 
Finance,  Publicity,  School  Relationships,  Curriculum, 
Teachers,  Training,  Enrolment. 

The  fact  that  schools  are  conducted  separately  by  each  church 
ought  not  to  prevent  cooperation  at  many  points.  Many  of  the 
items  mentioned  above  could  be  done  most  effectively  by  groups 
working  together  in  the  interest  of  all.  The  most  important 
points  at  which  cooperation  is  essential  are: 

1.  A  united  appeal  to  the  churches  of  the  community. 

2.  A  fixed  and  uniform  schedule  of  classes,  determined  by 
agreement  with  the  public  school. 


HOW  TO  ORGANIZE  99 

3.  A  uniform  series  of  standards  as   to:   school  facilities, 
financing  and  teachers. 

Group   (2)  Federation  of  Churches  would  depend,  as  to 
their   procedure,    on   the   form   of   organization   existing 
among  the  churches. 
Where  a  Federation  of  Churches  is  already  organized  and  car- 
rying forward  other  forms  of  work  the  first  step  is  to : 

1.  Secure  a  Department  of  Religious  Education  in  the  Federa- 
tion. This  should  be  composed  of  persons  interested  in  and 
familiar  with  modern  religious  education.  Its  duties  would 
be  those  of  the  city  Board  of  Religious  Education  (given 
under  I,  7-16)  with  the  additional  care  and  oversight  of 
Sunday  schools  and  all  other  work  in  religious  education 
which  can  be  carried  on  cooperatively  among  the  churches. 
Persons  related  to  the  system  of  public  instruction  should  be 
in  its  membership. 

This  department  will  be  subdivided,  as  to  week-day  work, 
into  the  committees  given  under  I,  7,  above. 

2.  A  Director  of  Religious  Education.  A  Secretary  of  the 
Federation  who  serves  under  the  above  Department,  as  the 
Superintendent  of  the  week-day  schools. 

3.  Secure  the  Intelligent  Support  of  Church  Constituencies  by 

(1)  Gathering  and  publishing  the  facts  as  to  need  in  this 
field  in  the  community. 

(2)  Paying  especial  attention  to  making  leaders  familiar 
with  modem  religious-educational   development. 

(3)  Securing    the    Organizing    Boards    or    Committees    of 
religious  education  in  each  church. 

4.  Steps  of  inaugurating  the  work  would  be  similar  to  those 
given  above  under  I,  8-14. 

An  example  of  a  program,  developed  by  a  relatively  small 
Federation  of  Churches,  working  under  a  city  federation  is 
given  in  Appendix  A  of  this  chapter. 

III.      THE  INDIVIDUAL  CHURCH  SCHOOL 

This  will  call  for  very  much  the  same  program  adapted  to  a 
smaller  number  of  persons,  as  that  outlined  in  Section  I,  the 
essential  difference  lying  in  the  fact  that  the  constituency  of  a 
single  church  takes  the  place  of  the  community  as  the  organizing 
and  supporting  unit.  The  extent  to  which  organization  is  car- 
ried, the  number  of  committees,  etc.,  will  depend  very  largely 
on  the  size  of  the  church. 


100         THE  WEEK-DAY  CHURCH-SCHOOL 

This  work  will  go  farther  and  fare  better  in  the  degree  to 
which  the  entire  church  is  enlisted.  There  will  be  the  temptation 
to  take  the  easy  way;  the  pastor  seeing  the  need  will  want  to 
start  at  once  and  to  carry  the  burden  alone.  But  this  enlarged 
program  most  seriously  needs  to  lie  on  the  consciences  of  all 
Christian  men  and  women,  and  it  will  constantly  need  the  rich, 
united  experience  and  intelligence  of  large  numbers  growing  in 
interest  and  in  definite  knowledge. 

The  first  steps  are: 

1.  Securing  full  information  for  pastor,  church  workers  and 
leaders. 

2.  Organizing  the  Church  Board  of  Beligious  Education, 

(1)  Developing  a  complete  program  of  Christian  nurture 
for  the  church. 

(2)  Coordinating  the  many  different  agencies  of  the  church 
for  this  program,  in  particular  those  that  deal  with  the 
children  and  youth.* 

(3)  Serving  as  a  Board  of  Education  for  the  week-day 
schools,  including  practically  all  the  duties  mentioned 
under  I,  7-14,  above. 

(4)  Continually  studying  the  problems  of  religious  educa- 
tion as  they  affect  the  church. 

3.  Placing  the  School  on  the  Church  Budget.  With  adequate 
dependable  financial  support. 

4.  Placing  the  School  on  the  Church  Program.  Securing  for 
it  a  definite,  protected  place  in  the  time  programs. 

5.  Furnishing  all  necessary  Facilities.  Rooms  and  equipment 
of  full  educational  standard  materials,  text-books,  supplies, 
teachers'  libraries. 

APPENDIX  A 

HYDE  PARK 

A  Comrmwity  Program  of  Beligious  Education.^ 

THE  NEED  A  SUGGESTED  PROGRAM 

1.  Ah    Educational    Campaign      (a)  Occasional  sermons  in  all 
in  Religious  Education.  churches. 

(b)  Book    suggestions    made 
through  church  calendars. 

*  For  the  details  see  the  author's  "School  in  the  Modern  Church," 
particularly  on  the  program  of  the  church  and  its  direction,  Chapters 
VI  and  VIII. 

t  Prepared  by  the  Rev.  J.  Leslie  Lobinger.  Secretary  of  Religious 
Education  for  tlie  Chicago  Church  Federation  (1920). 


HOW  TO  ORGANIZE 


101 


THE  NEED 


2.  To  know  the  essential  facts 
of  Community  Life  and  to 
present  them  to  the  churches. 


3.  To  reach  the  largest  possible 
number  of  boys  and  girls  for 
the  church  schools  of  the 
community. 


A  SUGGESTED  PROGRAM 

(c)  Active  campaign  for  wider 
use  of  R.  E.  A.  rooms  and 
for  membership  in  the 
R.  E.  A. 

(d)  A  week's  community  meet- 
ings in  the  autumn  with 
addresses  or  open  forum 
on  such  topics  as: 

(1)  What  is  Religious  Ed- 
ucation ? 

(2)  Religious  Education  in 
the  church. 

(3)  Religious  Education  in 
the  home. 

(4)  Religious      Education 
and  the  school. 

(5)  Religious      Education 
and  the  community. 

(e)  A  permanent  Committee  on 
Religious  Education  of  the 
Hyde  Park  Council  of 
Churches. 

(a)  A  Study  of  Religious  Ed- 
ucation in  the  Local 
Churches:  Equipment, 
Teacher s'  preparation, 
comparative  expenditures 
for  various  items  in  church 
budgets,  etc. 

(b)  A  study  of  such  local  prob- 
lems as  Recreation,  Juve- 
nile Delinquency,  Educa- 
tional Agencies,  Religious 
Agencies,  etc. 

(c)  Charting  of  information 
obtained,  and  a  campaign 
of  publicity. 

(a)  A  Comparative  study  of 
population  of  school  age 
and  Sunday-school  enrol- 
ments. 


102 


THE  WEEK-DAY  CHURCH-SCHOOL 


THE  NEED 


4.  Adequate  Training  Facilities 
for  all  church-school  teach- 
ers and  church  workers  of 
the  community. 


5.  Adequate  Instruction  in  Re- 
ligion for  Boys  and  Girls. 


6.  Religious  Education  in  the 
Home. 


A  SUGGESTED  PROGRAM 

(b)  Division  of  responsibility 
so  that  all  the  unreached 
may  be  approached. 

(c)  A  simultaneous  campaign. 

(a)  A  study  of  all  such  agen- 
cies at  present  operating, 
in  local  churches,  at  the 
University,  etc.,  as  to  their 
adequacy. 

(b)  The  determination  of  a 
policy:  support  of  present 
agencies  if  sufficient,  sug- 
gestions for  improvement 
if  necessary,  or  establish- 
ment of  other  agencies. 

(c)  Consideration  of  the  need 
of  simultaneous  supple- 
mentary training  groups  in 
each  church,  as  part  of  a 
unified  scheme. 

(a)  Study  of  religious  instruc- 
tion now  being  given,  as  to 
time  and  quality. 

(b)  The  Daily  Vacation  Bible 
Schools :  A  plan  to  provide 
sufficiently  for  the  entire 
community,  and  a  constant 
study  of  its  program  look- 
ing toward  improvement. 

1(c)  Week-Day  Instruction:  (1) 
A  Campaign  of  informa- 
tion as  to  what  is  being 
done  elsewhere.  (2)  Ex- 
periments in  this  direction 
in  Hyde  Park. 

(a)  A  study  of  VII-G  on 
Inter-Church  Movement  lo- 
cal survey  cards  as  filled 
out  by  Hyde  Park  churches. 

(b)  Study  of  various  types  of 
family  in  Hyde  Park. 


HOW  TO  ORGANIZE 


103 


THE  NEED 


7.  A  program  of  Recreation 
that  provides  for  the  needs 
of  every  age,  with  detrimen- 
tal and  inappropriate  types 
of  recreation  eliminated. 


A  SUGGESTED  PROGRAM 

(c)  Campaign  for  the  organi- 
zation of  Parent-Church 
School  Teachers'  Associa- 
tions (one  for  the  commu- 
nity or  one  for  each  church 
as  part  of  a  community 
program). 

(d)  Appropriate  literature. 

(a)  Obtain  information  as  to 
recreational  facilities  of 
schools,  Y.  M.  C.  A., 
churches,  etc. 

(b)  Determine  whether  recrea- 
tion offered  is  appropriate 
and  sufficient  for  each  psy- 
chological group  ;  also 
whether  there  is  duplica- 
tion. 

(c)  Provide  for  the  needs  of 
groups  not  cared  for,  rec- 
o  m  m  e  n  d  readjustment 
where  needless  duplication 
is  found. 

(d)  Plan  to  eliminate  injurious 
recreational  features. 


8.  Expressional  group  activi- 
ties tending  to  develop  better 
social  attitudes  and  a  health- 
ful community  spirit. 


(a)  Community  singing  in  the 
park  under  competent  di- 
rection. 

(b)  Pageantry  under  the  direc- 
tion of  the  Hyde  Park 
churches. 


CHAPTER  XII 
BUDGETS  AND  MAINTENANCE 

Who  will  pay  the  bills?  It  is  evident  that  so  large  and  serious 
an  enterprise  will  entail  heavy  expenses ;  how  should  the  necessary 
money  be  obtained  and  how  should  the  finances  be  administered? 

Up  to  the  present,  experience  indicates  the  following  different 
forms  of  financial  responsibility: 

1.  Separate  schools  carried  on  the  budget  of  separate  churches. 

2.  Group-schools,  supported  by  the  cooperative  efforts  of  a 
number  of  churches. 

3.  Special  experimental  schools  supported  and  conducted  by 
an  overhead  organization,  as  a  denominational  board  of  re- 
ligious education  or  of  Sunday  schools. 

4.  Community  Schools,  supported  by  the  efforts  of  the  com- 
munity board  of  religious  education. 

(1)  Funds  secured  by  popular  subscription. 

(2)  Funds  secured  by  popular  subscription,  with  specific 
grants  from  denominational  boards. 

(3)  Funds  secured  directly  in  or  through  the  churches. 

5.  Community  schools,  supported  by  local  federations  of 
churches. 

It  is  probable  that  direct  support  by  denominational  boards  is 
a  method  that  belongs  only  to  the  experimental  stage  and  that 
before  long  such  aid  as  these  boards  now  give  will  have  to  be 
devoted  to  the  general  promotion  and  oversight  of  the  entire  work. 
Support  by  church  federations  is  really  an  indirect  form  of  sup- 
port by  churches.  It  is  an  excellent  method  of  church  cooperation 
and  one  that  we  may  hope  to  see  extended.  But  all  the  methods 
may  be  classified  under  two  plans:  support  by  an  inclusive  com- 
munity-wide organization,  and  support  by  the  churches,  either 
separately  or  in  some  foi-ms  of  cooperative  effort.  These  are  the 
two  alternative  forms  of  organizing  social  responsibility  for  the 
schools. 

104 


BUDGETS  AND  MAINTENANCE  105 

I.      POSSIBLE  PLANS 

Where  should  the  responsibility  lie  for  supporting  the  schools? 
Should  the  schools  depend  on  the  churches  or  on  the  community  as 
a  whole? 

1.  Church  Support.  In  the  greater  number  of  instances  the 
schools  have  been  organized  by  churches;  they  carry  on  the 
work  of  the  churches.  They  are  distinctly  church  enterprises. 
But  there  is  a  tendency  to  complain  at  the  additional  burden  to 
the  church  budget  and  to  attempt  to  escape  from  the  increasing 
expense  of  properly  maintaining  such  schools.  This  is  not  strange 
in  view  of  the  long-established  habit  of  niggardly  treatment  of 
the  Sunday  school.  At  a  conference  on  week-day  schools  a 
deacon  in  a  church  objected  on  the  ground  that  it  "costs  a  lot  of 
money  to  teach  a  lot  of  children  who  do  not  belong  to  us  anyway." 
But  the  difficulties  of  church  support  seem  to  decrease  where, 
instead  of  independent  schools  separately  maintained,  we  have 
some  form  of  cooperation  amongst  the  churches. 

2.  Comm/unitif  Support.  The  alternative  to  church  support  is 
community  support,  that  is,  where  the  responsibility  is  thrown  on 
an  organization  created  directly  by  the  community.  That  implies, 
ultimately,  complete  community  operation.  The  whole  responsi- 
bility for  the  week-day  school  of  religion  would  rest  upon  a  com- 
munity board  as  representing  the  people  who  were  interested  in 
this  project,  irrespective  of  church  relationships.  Such  a  plan 
has  highly  attractive  features;  it  seems  to  be  a  realization  of 
religious  unity,  a  demonstration  of  religious  effort  that  is  univer- 
sal. This  is  what  we  deeply  desire.  There  are  evident  advantages 
to  the  community  as  a  whole,  for  there  is  likely  to  follow  a  closer 
community  life,  a  sense  of  the  spiritual  responsibilities  of  the 
community  and,  out  of  one  experience  of  such  ideal  service,  the 
community  may  learn  to  attempt  others.  Yet  is  there  not  a 
danger  that  the  churches  shall  be  divorced  from  the  life  of  child- 
hood? That  process  of  separation  has  been  going  on  at  an 
alarming  rate  until  there  are  many  churches  which  think  of 
themselves  only  in  adult  terms.  Do  we  wish  to  encourage  that 
process  ? 

Further,  up  to  the  present  we  have  no  instances  of  community 
operation,  that  is  in  the  form  that  some  have  urged,  the  manage- 
ment and  support  of  these  schools  by  what  are  essentially  civic 
bodies,  boards  elected  without  special  relations  to  churches,  sup- 
ported upon  funds  secured  without  any  sense  of  direct  or  special 
responsibility  on  the  part  of  churches. 


106         THE  WEEK-DAY  CHURCH-SCHOOL 

II.      EDUCATIONAL  PRINCIPLES  INVOLVED 

But  this  question  is  not  to  be  settled  by  considering  either  the 
welfare  of  the  community  or  the  welfare  of  the  churches;  it  must 
be  settled  by  considerations  of  the  welfare  of  children  and  of  the 
religious  social  order  toward  which  we  would  direct  them. 

Now  which  of  these  two  plans  will  most  efficiently  contribute 
toward  the  ultimate  purpose  of  the  schools;  which  will  best  help 
children  toward  the  realization  of  a  religious  social  order*?  Here 
we  have  to  consider  the  normal  social  experience  of  childhood. 
It  is  the  period  of  expanding  social  relations;  children  are  dis- 
covering the  social  life  through  living  in  social  groups  which 
develop  in  extent  from  the  family  to  the  total  community  life. 
Group  social  purposes  and  group  loyalties  are  developed  as  fhey 
go  on  from  one  group  to  another  and  larger  one.  The  larger 
loyalties  are  trained  in  the  lesser  groups.  It  seems  to  be  a  normal 
course  for  them  to  go  on  from  the  ideals  discovered  in  the  small 
group  of  the  family  to  those  of  the  next  group,  the  church,  and 
on  from  that  to  the  school  group. 

One  of  the  deep  needs  of  childhood  is  that  of  a  consciousness 
of  a  society,  organized  in  the  name  and  spirit  of  religion,  which 
loves  them  and  ministers  to  them  in  sacrificial  service.  The 
churches  constantly  need  the  experience  of  ministry  to  childhood; 
children  need  the  experience  of  being  loved  and  cared  for  by 
churches. 

Next,  if  the  children  of  a  particular  church  are  going  to  a 
common  school  of  religious  instruction  it  is  important  that  there 
shall  be  definite  and  vital  connections  between  that  school  and 
their  church.  It  must  be  a  realized  fact  that  this  school  is  for 
them  the  school  of  that  church,  and  the  first  point  at  which  this 
becomes  a  reality  will  be  by  the  fact  that  the  church  makes  the 
school  possible  through  its  practical  support. 

This  is  but  one  way  of  saying  that  children  need  a  church; 
they  need  its  nurturing  life;  they  need  the  sense  of  its  loving 
care  for  them;  they  need  the  consciousness  of  belonging  to  it,  as 
its  children,  as  those  to  whom  it  ministers.  It  might  seem  as 
though  this  argument  could  be  turned  to  support  the  plan  of 
separate  schools,  one  for  each  church.  But  that  is,  as  we  have 
seen,  so  wasteful  and  inefficient  a  method  as,  by  its  limitations, 
seriously  to  impair  the  service  which  the  church  renders  to  child- 
hood. There  is  more  likely  to'  be  a  consciousness  of  valuable 
ministry  through  an  efficient  common  system,  through  first-class 
schools  which  each  church,  in  cooperation  with  others,  makes 


BUDGETS  AND  MAINTENANCE  107 

possible,  than  through  the  commonly  inadequate  schools  which  it 
could  individually  conduct.  Moreover,  childhood  needs  a  common 
experience  in  religious  training.  When  children  know  that  they 
owe  this  rich,  common  and  efficient  schooling  to  the  support  of 
their  own  church  they  quickly  realize  their  indebtedness. 

The  responsibility  for  religious  ministries  should  rest  upon 
religious  agencies  in  order  that  those  who  are  ministered  to  may 
specifically  experience  the  loving  ministry  of  organized  religion, 
of  religion  in  the  form  of  a  society. 

The  simple  situation  is  that  the  community  operation  of  schools 
seems  to  be  the  only  practically  efficient  method;  but  there  re- 
mains one  means  by  which  this  community-wide  experience  may 
be  effectively  knit  to  the  separate  churches,  and  that  is  through 
their  hearty  participation  in  its  support  and  operation. 

III.      EDUCATIONAL   POSSIBILITIES   FOR  CHURCHES 

A  test  of  the  churches.  This  issue — on  financial  support  for 
week-day  schools — may  settle  some  vastly  important  question  for 
the  churches,  such  as,  whether  they  are  to  have  an  increasing  or 
a  diminishing  place  in  the  lives  of  children,  and  whether  they  are 
to  develop  or  abandon  their  work  of  education.  It  may  settle,  in 
a  very  practical  manner,  the  question  whether  children  need  the 
church,  a  question  which,  if  it  is  answered  in  the  negative,  cer- 
tainly implies  that  when  children  become  adults  they  will  find 
the  church  equally  dispensable.  And  when  we  look  at  the  large 
numbers  of  decent  and  morally  well-behaved  adults  who  find 
churches  negligible  factors  in  their  lives  we  need  to  remember 
that,  at  least,  a  contributory  cause  is  the  fact  that  the  churches 
regarded  them  as  negligible  when  they  were  children. 

The  week-day  school  is  the  opportunity  of  the  churches  to 
demonstrate  the  practical  nature  of  their  ministry  and  the  reality 
of  their  concern  for  children,  as  deeper  and  more  vital  than  their 
concern  for  themselves  as  institutions. 

The  churches  cannot  afford  to  look  upon  community  schools 
as  an  opportunity  to  still  further  evade  their  duties  to  children. 
Having  relegated  the  Sunday  school  to  an  inferior  position, 
having  refused  so  long  to  devote  to  children  anything  like  the 
money  or  the  personal  ministry  that  they  give  to  adults,  there 
may  be  a  tendency  to  welcome  these  week-day  schools  as  relieving 
them  of  all  responsibility  in  this  field.  The  major  trend  of 
churches  is  toward  adult  ministry;  in  many  instances  they  defi- 
nitely and  habitually  think  of  their  work  in  terms  of  men  and 


108  THE  WEEK-DAY  CHURCH-SCHOOL 

women  only.  The  time  may  come  when  the  church  historian  will 
point  to  this  as  a  most  singular  phenomenon,  that  for  many 
decades  church  life  has  been  confined  to  the  interests  and  needs 
of  lives  after  they  have  reached  maturity,  after  motives,  ideals 
and  habits  have  been  quite  largely  determined.  To-day  the  as- 
sumption of  the  dominant  adult  interests  is  so  common  that  it  is 
difficult  to  get  church  people  to  see  its  dangers  and  its  short- 
comings. They  seem  to  be  blind  to  the  fact  that  the  only  possible 
way  to  guide  the  society  of  to-morrow  is  to  gain  the  childhood 
of  to-day. 

The  community  needs  the  leadership  of  the  churches  in  sup- 
porting the  week-day  schools.  It  can  pay  the  bills  without 
calling  on  churches,  whenever  it  realizes  how  essential  this  reli- 
gious training  is  to  civil  and  social  welfare ;  but  it  cannot  get  along 
without  the  example  and  spiritual  leadership  of  the  churches. 
And  that  leadership  will  be  effectively  expressed,  not  alone  in 
the  proclamation  of  high  ideals  through  sermons  and  worship, 
but  in  definite  actions. 

IV.      DEVELOPING   AN   INTELLIGENT   SUPPORTING   CONSTITUENCY 

We  have  been  so  used  to  Sunday  schools  which  cost  nothing 
and  were  often  sources  of  income  to  churches  that  it  comes  as  a 
painful  surprise  when  any  one  suggests  that  the  religious  training 
of  children  rightfully  calls  for  the  expenditure  of  real  money. 
How  can  this  difficulty  be  met?  By  educating  people  to  realize 
the  commanding  importance  of  religious  training  and  the  fact 
that  it  is  not  a  haphazard  or  accidental  affair,  that  it  calls  for 
expert  services  and  designed  equipment.  How  may  this  be  ac- 
complished ? 

1.  Get  the  facts  before  all  the  people.  Comparatively  few 
realize  that  less  than  one-fourth  of  our  school  population  is 
receiving  any  regular  religious  instruction.  Few  appreciate  the 
fact  that  even  those  who  attend  regularly  an  efficient  Sunday 
school  receive  at  the  most  irregular  and  incomplete  religious  in- 
struction which  stands  in  the  ratio  of  one  to  thirty  to  general 
education. 

Set  the  facts  out  in  sermons,  addresses  and  public  conferences; 
display  them  in  graphic  form ;  use  the  striking  diagrams  prepared 
in  the  Inter-Church  campaign.* 

2.  Instruct  people  in  the  meaning  of  religious  education.   This 

*  To  be  found  in  the  Religious  Education  section  of  the  two  volumes  of 
Survey  published  by  The  Inter-Church  Iifovement  (1920). 


BUDGETS  AND  MAINTENANCE  109 

work  will  not  be  supported  properly  until  it  is  better  understood, 
until  at  least  a  much  larger  number  know  that  it  means  something 
more  significant  than  teaching  the  Bible;  it  means  using  every 
means  possible  efficiently  to  train  and  develop  a  Christian  society. 
3.  Pay  especial  attention  to  those  who  will  leaven  the  lump  of 
public  opinion.  Put  the  modern  literature  on  religious  education 
in  the  hands  of  leaders,  of  intelligent,  thoughtful  persons.  See 
that  every  pastor,  every  teacher,  every  worker  in  child  welfare 
and  in  education  knows  of  the  newer  books  and  other  publi- 
cations.* It  is  important  that  all  supporters  of  this  work  give 
their  aid  intelligently,  under  conviction  of  its  need  and  its  possi- 
bilities. Those  who  are  responsible  for  promoting  the  schools 
may  well  study  the  tireless  activity,  the  wise  propagandist  work 
of  the  founders  of  the  free  public  school  system  in  the  United 
States,  particularly  Horace  Mann  and  Henry  Barnard. 

V.     ORGANIZE  FINANCES  ON  AN  ETHICAL  BUSINESS  BASIS 

1.  A  budget.  Prepare  in  advance  and  publish  an  estimate  of 
the  expense  of  the  school  or  schools,  carefully  itemized.  Such  a 
budget  will  have  to  be  determined  by  a  study  of  what  has  been 
done  in  other  schools  and  what  local  conditions  demand.  It  will 
include  the  following  items : 

(1)  Physical  plant.  Rental  of  buildings,  cost  of  new  buildings 
or  interest  on  investment  in  new  buildings;  provision  for 
enlargements,  improvements,  repairs. 

(2)  Equipment,  seats,  desks,  tables,  blackboards,  working  ma- 
terials for  hand-work;  text-books,  teachers^  libraries. 

(3)  Upkeep,  janitor's  services,  light,  heat,  advertising. 

(4)  Administration.  The  services  of  the  Board  will  be  volun- 
tary, but  there  will  be  clerical  expenses,  and,  in  a  larger 
system,  general  office  expenses.  Office  supplies,  record 
blanks. 

(5)  Teaching: 

Supervisor,  usually  on  salary.    Teachers,  on  salary. 

2.  A  system  of  a/icounts.  Have  a  competent  accountant,  who 
understands  or  who  will  study  school-bookkeeping,  set  up  the 
scheme  of  financial  accounting.  See  that  it  is  rigidly  followed. 
Have  it  always  ready  for  examination.  Give  the  fullest  publicity 
to  the  financial  affairs  of  the  school.  Publish  full  financial  re- 
ports at  least  annually,  better  quarterly. 

*  Printed  lists  of  books  may  be  obtained,  gratis,  from  The  Religious 
Education  Association. 


no         THE  WEEK-DAY  CHURCH-SCHOOL 

3.  A  system  of  support.  On  the  basis  of  the  budget  secure 
the  underwriting  of  all  expense,  either  through  individual  pledges 
or  by  the  different  cooperating  organizations.  Arrange  a  definite 
plan  upon  which  these  pledges  shall  be  paid.  The  school  cannot 
be  left  to  the  mercies  of  waves  of  indifference  or  dependent  on 
emotional  spasms  or  special  agonizing  appeals. 

Here  we  are  establishing  a  new  institution;  it  affords  an  op- 
portunity to  establish  the  business  aspects  of  its  work  on  sound 
bases  and  to  make  the  conduct  of  the  school  a  demonstration  of 
religion  at  work  in  practical  life. 

4.  Organized  financial  responsibility.  It  would  seem  to  be 
wise  to  have  the  local  board  of  religious  education  properly  in- 
corporated under  the  laws  of  the  state,  as  an  "incorporation 
without  profit."  The  members  of  the  board,  or  a  smaller  body, 
within  the  board,  would  then  become  the  corporation's  Board  of 
Directors,  with  legal  financial  responsibility.  They  should  be  real 
directors,  capable  both  of  educational  and  fiscal  management,  so 
definitely  interested  that  they  will  give  oversighli  and  aid  to  all 
matters  of  securing  income  and  guiding  expenditures. 


CHAPTER  XIII 
CONDITIONS  OF  SUCCESSFUL  WOEK 

The  conditions  which  are  essential  to  week-day  schools  would 
hold  for  any  similar  form  of  educational  institution;  they  have 
to  be  modified  only  to  these  special  types  of  work. 

I.      DEFINITE   PURPOSES 

First,  week-day  work  needs  definitely  formulated  purposes  both 
as  to  the  religious  aims  and  the  educational  character  of  the 
enterprise.  We  ought  to  know  what  we  want  to  do,  why  we 
want  to  do  it  and  how  it  is  to  be  done. 

1.  Purpose  of  the  local,  or  community  organization.  To  rep- 
resent its  constituency  in  organizing,  maintaining  and  promoting 
religious  education  through  week-day  instruction,  a  purpose 
which  may  be  extended  to  responsibility  for  the  moral  and  re- 
ligious life  of  the  young  in  the  community.  Specifically,  to 
organize  a  directing  Board  of  Education ;  to  discover  means  of 
coordinating  school  programs  with  schedules  of  week-day  instruc- 
tion; to  survey  the  community  and  discover  its  needs  in  religious 
education,  to  pass  upon  plans  for  the  distribution  of  teaching 
centers  or  schools,  to  inform  and  educate  the  public  mind  on  the 
important  meaning  of  religious  education  and  on  the  methods  and 
needs  of  the  local  church  schools;  to  secure  the  funds  necessary 
for  the  support  and  development  of  the  work. 

2.  Purpose  of  the  local  Board  of  Religious  Education  (ap- 
pointed by  the  Community  organization).  To  have  the  same 
functions  as  a  city  Board  of  Education:  responsibility  for  prop- 
erty; detailed  organization  of  schedules;  securing  paid  workers; 
administration  of  funds. 

3.  Purpose  of  the  school.  Essentially  this  is  to  make  religious 
education  in  an  effective  manner  an  integral  part  of  the  educa- 
tional experience  of  children.  It  will  be  necessary  to  state  this 
program  in  many  different  terms  in  order  that  it  may  be  clear 
to  persons  of  varying  experience  and  points  of  view.  (Stated 
in  detail  in  Chapter  III.) 

Much  depends,  at  this  moment,  on  two  conditions:  (1)  On  an 
intelligent  group  of  persons  with  clear  understanding  of  what 

111 


112         THE  WEEK-DAY  CHURCH-SCHOOE 

has  been  accomplished,  of  what  modern  leaders  are  thinking  about 
religious  education  and  on  the  application  of  scientific  method 
in  education  to  this  problem  in  religion.  (2)  The  purpose  of  the 
school  must  clearly  and  evidently  be  a  religious  one.  This  means 
that  it  is  something  much  larger  than  an  attempt  on  the  part  of 
other  agencies  to  do  what  the  schools  cannot  do,  namely,  teach 
about  religion.  It  uses  the  method  of  schooling  to  secure  the  ends 
for  which  the  churches  exist,  that  men  may  know  and  will  and 
effect  God's  will  here. 

In  order  to  get  the  purpose  of  the  schools  clearly  before  the 
public  mind,  one  might  circulate  in  printed  form  the  statement 
of  Purposes  in  Chapter  III,  Section  I. 

II.      DEFINITE  PROGRAMS 

Whatever  the  type  of  organization  may  be  its  schedule  must 
become  a  fixed  part  of  the  routine  of  the  commmiity  or  the  special 
group  whom  it  serves.  This  is  highly  important;  schools  meeting 
at  haphazard,  with  classes  dropped  in  here  and  there,  will  never 
succeed.  First,  there  is  the  need  of  childhood,  that,  just  as  public- 
school  programs  are  fixed  and  become,  to  the  child,  the  regular 
business  of  life,  so  this  school  must  fit  into  his  normal  schedules. 
Second,  the  community  increasingly  demands  organization  upon 
fixed  schedules;  parents  must  not  be  under  the  necessity  of 
watching  a  calendar  or  consulting  a  guide  to  know  when  and 
where  these  schools  are  to  be  held.  Third,  the  schools  must  be 
able  so  to  arrange  a  week's  program  that  classes  do  not  overlap, 
so  that  teachers  may  be  employed  for  full  time  and  buildings 
used  to  the  largest  possible  extent  continuously.  Fourth,  the 
public  school  must  be  able  to  adopt  definite  modes  of  procedure 
in  regard  to  the  attendance  of  its  pupils  on  the  church  schools 
and  in  regard  to  all  relations  it  may  hold  to  such  schools. 

Programs,  or  schedules,  must  be  prepared  in  consultation  with 
public-school  authorities  and  church  leaders.  Factors  to  be  de- 
termined will  include:  number  of  grades,  nimnber  of  pupils  in  a 
grade,  number  of  hours  per  week  per  pupil,  number  of  hours 
given  by  the  public  schools,  accommodations  of  buildings,  dis- 
tances between  public  schools  and  church  schools;  general  sched- 
ule of  the  public  schools,  teachers  available. 

When  the  schedule  is  fixed  it  should  be  fully  understood  and 
accepted  by  the  public  schools,  a  fixed  part  of  the  programs  of 
the  churches — as  sacred  and  inflexible  as  any  part  of  the  pro- 
gram, and  understood  by  and  familiar  to  all  parents.  It  should 
be  thoroughly  advertised  and  kept  before  the  public  mind. 


CONDITIONS  OP  SUCCESSFUL  WORK        113 

III.   EXPERT  LEADERSHIP 

This  is  an  educational  enterprise  to  be  conducted  parallel  to 
that  of  general  education.  Its  workers  must  be  educators.  It 
calls  for  expert  supervision,  the  system  of  schools  being  under 
the  immediate  direction  of  a  person  familiar  with  educational 
administration  and  capable  of  watching,  criticizing  and  guiding 
the  class  work  of  teachers. 

The  supervisor  should  have,  at  least,  the  training  given  in 
first-class  normal  colleges,  with  specialization  in  supervision  and 
in  religious  education.  Of  course,  ability  to  organize  and  direct 
educational  work  is  necessary. 

Teachers  should  be  engaged  only  as  they  meet  these  three  re- 
quirements: (1)  Special  training  and  experience  equal  to  the 
full — not  the  minimum — requirements  of  the  local  public  schools. 
(2)  Definite  and  attractive  religious  character  and  personality. 
No  matter  what  knowledge  or  pedagogical  skill  he  may  possess, 
an  irreligious  person,  or  one  possessed  of  less  than  a  strong  vital 
religious  purpose,  cannot  teach  religion.  (3)  A  steadily  develop- 
ing familiarity  with  and  ability  in  the  special  methods  of  religious 
education. 

rV.      PAID  LEADERSHIP 

When  it  is  understood  that  week-day  schools  are  more  than 
devices  for  an  extension  of  time,  and  that  they  are  plans  for  the 
integration  of  religion  in  the  educational  experience  of  childhood, 
then  we  shall  cease  our  present  wasteful  and  damaging  efforts  to 
use  teachers  who  have  no  better  qualifications  than  those  we 
have  been  used  to  expect  of  Sunday-school  workers,  a  love  for 
children,  an  interest  in  their  religious  welfare  and  a  willingness 
to  give  a  little  time  to  the  work.  If  we  try  half-way  measures 
at  this  point j  if  we  try  to  worry  along  with  amateurs;  if  we  are 
unwilling  to  pay  the  price  of  efficient  service,  we  will  pay  the 
larger  and  more  serious  price  of  failure. 

Many  religious  persons  hold  that  religious  work  must  always 
be  upon  a  voluntary  basis — except  that  particular  religious  work 
which  ministers  to  them  through  the  pastorate  and  pulpit.  Why 
should  the  ministry  to  children  be  treated  as  of  less  importance 
than  the  ministry  to  adults  ?  Is  it  any  less  a  task,  does  it  call  for 
less  special  knowledge  and  expert  ability  to  teach  and  guide 
children  than  it  does  to  lead  a  congregation?  Js  religion  of  less 
importance  than  public  education  that  we  will  pay  for  one  while 
we  leave  the  other  to  chance? 

At  this  point  will  come  the  real  test  of  whether  the  churches 


114         THE  WEEK-DAY  CHURCH-SCHOOL 

mean  to  do  things  worthwhile  or  not.  Our  whole  religious  fnture 
now  depends  on  the  right  training  of  children.  In  the  light  of 
what  we  know  as  to  the  religious  ignorance  of  children,  of  the 
neglect  of  childhood  by  the  church,  of  comparisons  between  re- 
ligious instruction  and  general  instruction,  of  the  appalling  men- 
ace of  a  new  generation  devoid  of  religious  motives  forming  an 
anti-religious  and  unmoral  world,  all  ages  will  laugh  us  to  scorn 
unless  for  this  high  task  we  furnish  workers  at  least  as  efficient 
as  we  now  demand  for  the  preparation  of  our  children  for  the 
life  of  business  and  daily  affairs. 

V.      EDUCATIONAL  ADMINISTRATION 

If  the  entire  system  is  to  be  truly  educational,  then  those  who 
administer  it  must  know  what  education  means  and,  specifically, 
what  is  meant  by  religious  education.  This  is  true  of  the  local 
administration  in  the  Board  of  Religious  Education,  whether  it  be 
a  community  board,  or  a  group  of  pastors  conducting  schools,  or 
a  board  in  a  single  church,  or  the  directing  overhead  body  in  a 
state  or  larger  territory,  or  in  a  denominational  board.  It  is  time 
to  insist  that  people  who  assume  to  lead  in  religious  education 
shall  know  definitely  what  has  been  happening  in  this  field  in  the 
past  ten  or  fifteen  years.  The  present  situation  is  so  critical  and 
the  need  is  so  serious  that  it  would  be  iniquitous  to  permit  igno- 
rance to  lead,  to  allow  the  facile  wielder  of  boiTowed  phrases, 
posing  as   an   expert,   to   assume  leadership   in   this  field. 

By  the  local  bodies  every  possible  means  must  be  taken  to  se- 
cure, as  administrators,  those  who  know  and  are  willing  to  know 
more,  who  are  ready  for  possible  developments  of  knowledge, 
and  who  can  keep  before  all  the  facts  regarding  scientific  knowl- 
edge and  developments  in  this  field.  First,  select  as  administra- 
tors those  who  have  the  qualifications  of  religious  character  and 
educational  intelligence,  and  then  see  that  they  grow.  Make 
available  the  means  of  growth.  It  is  a  reasonable  expectation 
that  the  literature  of  this  field  will  be  familiar  to  its  leadei-s,  that 
they  will  keep  pace  with  it  as  they  would  with  knowledge  in  any 
other  field  in  which  they  hoped  to  lead. 

This  lays  definite  obligations  on  pastors,  who  are  always  likely, 
directly  or  indirectly,  to  be  the  leaders  in  this  movement.  It  is 
a  serious  charge,  one  that  has  been  stated  only  after  long  and 
careful  consideration,  that  the  most  difficult  obstacle  in  the  way 
of  a  program  of  modem  religious  education  is  the  ignorance  of 
the  great  majority  of  ministers  on  the  whole  subject.  They,  in 
the  greater  number  of  instances,  have  not  been  instructed  in  their 
seminaries;  a  very  large  number  have  had  little  or  no  professional 


CONDITIONS  OF  SUCCESSFUL  WORK        115 

training  of  any  kind,  and  they  are  unwilling  to  take  time  to  learn, 
or  to  attempt  to  keep  up  with  a  subject  that  develops  rapidly  and 
calls  for  special  study.  If  this  field  of  knowledge  lies  beyond 
their  limits  of  time  or  strength  they  must  be  willing  to  leave  it 
to  those  who  have  made  it  their  own.  They  must  either  become 
competent  to  lead  in  religious  education  or  definitely  and 
avowedly  commit  that  leadership  to  those  who  are  competent. 

This  principle  also  involves  constant  willingness  and  eager  pur- 
pose to  call  on  educational  experts  for  their  special  help.  This  is 
a  task  which  cannot  be  accomplished  save  with  the  aid  of  trained 
specialists,  that  is  real  specialists,  not  persons  posing  as  "experts," 
whose  kit  of  tools  consists  of  little  besides  a  stock  of  undigested 
phrases.  We  may  expect,  as  soon  as  week-day  schools  develop, 
another  sporadic  increase  in  "specialists"  and  "experts";  persons 
who  have  read  a  few  books  on  methods  and,  perhaps,  some  popu- 
lar applied  psychology,  whose  intellectual  processes  seldom  grow^ 
but  rather  change  as  by  the  adoption  of  new  inflexible  machinery. 
But  there  are  those  who  can  think  of  problems  in  fundamental 
terms,  who  know  what  scientific  method  means,  and  who  are 
distinctly  reverent  because  they  are  loyal  to  light  and  truth. 

VI.      SEPARATION   FROM    SCHOOL   SYSTEM 

This  means  entire  separateness  of  the  control,  support  and 
operation  of  the  week-day  schools  of  religion  from  the  tax-sup- 
ported schools.  It  means  separation  and  independence,  not  only 
in  form  and  appearance,  but  in  reality,  down  to  the  least  detail 
where  the  power  or  the  resources  of  the  state  or  the  public  schools 
are  concerned. 

It  is  not  inconceivable  that  this  may  be  the  precise  point  at 
which  the  whole  project  of  week-day  religious  schools  might  come 
to  disaster.  This  is  inevitable  if  we  allow  ourselves  to  suppose 
that  it  is  possible  to  carry  forward  the  work  of  these  schools 
under  any  system  that  shares  responsibility  or  shares  support 
with  the  public  schools.  One  simple  principle  stands  out  clearly 
as  the  basis  of  operation  for  week-day  religious  instruction :  Re- 
ligious and  free  agencies  must  he  responsible  for  religious  schools. 

One  finds,  in  a  great  many  places,  the  tendency  to  try  other 
ways,  to  seek  some  plan  by  which  the  tax-supported  school  may 
lend  its  property,  its  resources,  its  authority  to  the  church  schools. 
All  such  attempts  are  made  in  defiance  of  our  American  principle 
of  the  separation  of  church  and  state;  they  are  made  in  defiance 
of  the  lessons  of  our  history,  in  which  every  effort  to  have  the 
state  support  the  work  of  the  church  has  ended  in  disaster. 
Almost  all  mature  persons  can  remember  either  propaganda  for 


116         THE  WEEK-DAY  CHURCH-SCHOOL 

such  enterprises,  or  the  attempt  to  carry  tliem  out,  and  can  recall 
ihe  wreck  of  the  enterprise. 

The  temptation  is  especially  subtle.  It  seems  so  simple  to 
argue:  Here  we  are  trying  to  complete  the  educational  work  of 
the  schools ;  why  should  they  not  help  us  ?  The  situation  becomes 
peculiarly  alluring  when  the  community  sentiment  is  so  united 
that  no  one  openly  objects  to  the  school  of  religion  meeting  in  the 
public-school  building,  or  to  teachers  in  the  public  school  giving 
some  of  their  time  to  teaching  in  the  church  week-day  school. 
Doubtless  there  are  communities  where  such  things  might  be  done 
for  years  without  causing  serious  trouble,  and  they  would  seem  to 
solve  many  difficulties.  But  we  must  plead  with  the  leaders  in 
such  communities  to  weigh  very  carefully  two  most  important 
considerations.     They  are: 

First,  we  cannot  afford  to  violate  a  principle  even  though  cir- 
cumstances encourage  us  and  promise  to  protect  us  in  doing  so. 
The  use  of  the  resources  or  authority  of  the  tax-supported  school 
for  religious  purposes  is  just  as  much  a  violation  of  American 
principles  in  a  community  where  all,  absolutely  all,  belong  to  one 
church,  as  it  would  be  in  the  most  diverse  population. 

Second,  we  cannot  afford  to  so  abuse  our  freedom  as  to  increase 
the  limitations  of  others.  The  interweaving  of  the  two  school 
systems  in  communities  where  it  creates  no  opposition  is  the  most 
serious  menace  to  the  success  of  the  movement  in  other  com- 
munities. No  community  can  live  to  itself.  At  this  moment 
opposition  brews  and  criticism  is  expressed  on  the  ground  that 
in  one  place  or  another  school  buildings  are  used  for  religious 
instruction,  or,  in  this  place  where  the  ministers  and  the  school 
board  are  in  entire  harmony,  it  is  proposed  to  let  the  ministers 
enter  the  sehoolhouses  to  teach  their  own  groups.  It  will  not  do 
to  say  these  plans  will  work  no  harm  at  home;  they  will  work 
disaster  abroad;  they  will  wreck  the  whole  enterprise  if  they  are 
persisted  in.  No  community  can  afford  to  accept  the  easy  and 
inexpensive  way  of  school  aid  when  by  so  doing  the  religious 
education  of  all  American  children  is  imperiled. 

It  cannot  be  too  emphatically  stated  that  this  question  is  of  the 
utmost  importance  and  that  there  is  only  one  right  and  safe  way, 
and  that  is  be  entirely  independent  of  the  public  schools.  Every 
kind  of  religious  work  must  be  a  charge  only  on  religious  persons 
and  those  who  voluntarily  support  it. 

It  is  important  that  we  make  this  principle  clear,  that  it  be 
indefinitely  and  expressly  stated,  that  there  shall  be  no  doubt  on 
the  matter  in  the  public  mind,  and  that  everywhere  plans  of  week- 
day religious  instruction   shall  unequivocally   depend   solely  on 


CONDITIONS  OF  SUCCESSFUL  WORK        117 
voluntary  support  and  on  voluntary  agencies  for  their  direction. 

VII.      AN   OPEN    MIND 

Here  is  a  new  field  of  endeavor,  one  in  which  new  methods  are 
possible.  We  ought  not  to  assume  that  other  institutions  have 
settled  the  methods  that  are  best  here.  It  is  not  wise  to  blindly 
follow  the  methods  of  tlie  public  school  in  the  assumption  that 
they  have  said  the  last  words  in  methods.  First,  because  public 
schools  are  seriously  handicapped  by  traditions  about  methods  of 
education,  and  their  numbers  and  size  constantly  tend  to  bind 
them  in  the  meshes  of  intricate  mechanical  organizations ;  second, 
because  religious  education  deals  with  aspects  of  personality,  with 
ranges  of  values  and  forms  of  experience  that  are  not  necessarily 
involved  in  public  education,  so  that  general  educational  methods 
do  not  always  transfer  without  change  to  religious  education. 

Nor  should  we  blindly  assume  that  Sunday-school  methods  are 
to  be  followed  in  the  week-day  school.  It  would  be  a  tragedy  if 
we  fail  to  break  with  the  traditions  so  long  associated  with  im- 
perfect work.  Every  one  who  serves  in  or  with  a  week-day  school 
must  hold  the  open  mind  of  willingness  to  follow  any  reasonable 
pathway  that  promises  greater  efficiency  in  achieving  the  purpose 
of  the  school.  The  dominating  consideration  is  not,  What  has 
schooling  always  meant  ?  but,  What  will  best  bring  about  religious 
attitudes,  religious  purposes  and  religious  aptitudes  in  these  boys 
and  girls'?  Servile  imitators  of  mechanical  organizations  and 
processes  may  satisfy  us  if  all  we  are  seeking  is  a  well-oiled,  nicely 
articulately  school  machine;  but  that  is  not  what  we  seek;  we 
desire  boys  and  girls  who  will  live  the  Christian  life  and  do  the 
work  of  a  Christian  society. 

VIII.      A  RELIGIOUS  METHOD  OF  OPERATION 

The  system  of  schools  of  religion  must  themselves  teach  religion 
through  what  they  are  as  a  system,  and  as  institutions.  These 
schools  have  contacts  with  community  life  at  many  points;  every 
such  contact  is  a  teaching  potency,  both  toward  children  and 
toward  adults.  In  every  detail  of  organization,  administration, 
promotion,  finance  and  social  relationships  the  schools  must  ex- 
press the  religious  ideal;  they  must  be  conducted  on  that  plane 
where  the  justice  and  love  of  religion  reveals  the  finest  types  of 
ethical  conduct.  It  would  be  easy  to  defeat  almost  all  that  might 
be  taught  in  classes  by  carelessness  in  business  affairs,  by  partisan 
strife,  by  jealousy,  by  school  political  trickery,  or  by  any  sort  of 
conduct  below  the  level  of  Christian  ideals  of  social  living.  Let 
these  schools  teach  their  truth  by  what  they  are. 


CHAPTER  XIV 
DANGERS 

At  least  four  serious  dangers  face  the  present  movement  for 
week-day  religious  instruction.  The  first  is  a  comprehensive  one 
with  many  aspects:  that  the  religious  organizations  shall  treat 
these  week-day  schools  with  the  triviality  that  has  characterized 
Sunday-school  work.  The  second  danger  is  that  we  shall  imagine 
that  week-day  instruction  will  furnish  a  complete  program  of 
religious  education  and  solve  all  the  problems  in  that  field.  The 
third  is  that  we  shall  attempt  to  transfer  those  duties  to  the 
public  school.  The  fourth  danger  is  that  the  program  of  week- 
day instruction  may  come  to  wreck  on  the  rocks  of  sectarianism. 

First. — Churches  may  fail  to  realize  the  importance  of  this 
enterprise.  Of  this  there  are  many  evidences.  Churches  often 
are  blithely  embarking  on  week-day  instruction  for  which  they 
are  making  no  new  or  greater  provision  than  they  made  for  their 
Sunday  schools.  Frequently  they  attempt  to  use  the  same 
physical  equipment,  to  depend  on  the  services  of  volunteer 
teachers,  and  to  follow  the  Sunday  curriculum.  Of  course,  there 
are,  as  has  been  indicated,  many  instances  of  much  more  serious 
work. 

Unless  we  prepare  for  new  and  larger  things  the  whole  enter- 
prise will  fail.  At  a  meeting  of  one  of  the  most  progressive 
church  federations  in  a  very  large  city,  quite  recently,  when  it  was 
voted  to  embark  on  week-day  instruction,  those  busy  city  pastors 
were  all  of  the  opinion  that  with  ease  they  could  add  the  organ- 
ization of  this  new  enterprise  to  their  responsibilities,  and  nearly 
all  of  them  insisted  that  the  wise  course  would  be  to  permit  them 
to  teach  the  classes.  Experience  led  them  to  repentance.  In 
many  instances  week-day  schools  have  been  started  simply  as 
transfers  of  the  Sunday-school  enterprise  to  the  days  of  the  week. 
The  change  has  suggested  the  possibility  of  using  different  les- 
sons, but,  seeing  that  no  lessons  were  catalogued,  as  handy  as 
merchandise  on  shelves,  by  the  denominational  houses,  they  have 
frequently  simply  expanded  and  adopted  the  existing  courses  pre- 
pared for  Sunday  schools. 

118 


DANGERS  119 

Week-day  schools  of  religion  are  more  than  Sunday  schools 
which  have  spilt  over  into  the  week.  They  are  more  than  a  new 
form  of  children's  meetings.  While  fully  recognizing  the  immense 
values  and  the  splendid  fniitage  of  the  efforts  of  volunteer 
teachers  of  religion,  and  still  believing  that  there  is  not  less,  but 
more,  work  for  these  persons  to  do,  the  time  has  come  when  the 
churches  must  realize  that  the  instruction  of  children  can  no 
longer  be  regarded  as  a  secondary  interest,  dependent  on  the 
spare  time  and  the  surplus  energies  of  volunteers.  The  work  of 
religious  instruction  is,  at  least,  not  less  important  and  certainly 
not  less  difficult  than  that  of  general  instruction.  It  demands  the 
purposeful,  rather  than  marginal,  in  the  occupation  of  persons. 
As  general  education  is  the  most  important  ministry  of  the  state 
to  children,  so  religious  education  is  the  most  direct  and  important 
ministry  of  the  churches  to  children.  The  week-day  school  places 
that  ministry  on  a  plane  with  the  ministry  to  children  through 
the  public  school,  and  on  the  same  plane  with  the  ministry  of  the 
church  to  adults  through  the  clergy.  It  represents  the  transfer 
from  makeshift  devices  to  a  definite,  purposeful  program. 

The  evidences  of  seriousness  of  purpose,  based  on  recognition 
of  the  nature  of  the  task  and  opportunity,  are:  Organization 
based  on  recognized  educational  principles,  provision  of  equip- 
ment and  facilities  designed  for  this  school,  employment  of  per- 
sons specifically  trained  for  this  work,  adequate  financial  support, 
constant  professional  supervision,  and  an  intelligent,  active  di- 
recting board  or  council. 

Second. — The  danger  that  we  shall  suppose  that  a  scheme  of 
instruction  about  religion,  or  in  religious  subjects  will  accomplish 
the  work  of  religious  education.  There  seems  to  be  a  tendency 
to  assume  that  when  provision  has  been  made  to  give  all  children 
several  hours  of  instruction  every  week  in  religious  subjects  the 
churches  will  have  discharged  their  entire  responsibility  toward 
childhood.  Instruction  is  an  essential  part  of  education;  but 
education  means  the  all-around,  systematic  development  of  the 
whole  of  lives.  If  the  week-day  schools  are  regarded  solely  as 
instruments  of  instruction,  then  their  work  must  be  seen  as  only 
a  part  of  a  larger  program,  one  in  which  there  is  large  room  for 
free  activity,  for  the  social  experiences  of  children,  for  the  de- 
velopment and  control  of  emotions,  for  play  and  work  and 
worship. 

But,  instead  of  thinking  of  the  week-day  school  as  confined  to 
teaching — using  the  word  teaching  in  the  limited  sense  of  im- 
parted instruction — it  will  be  better  to  develop  its  full  efficiencies 


120  THE  WEEK-DAY  CHURCH-SCHOOL 

as  an  educational  agency.  Just  as,  increasingly,  the  public  school 
is  becoming  an  educational  agency,  carrying  on  its  work  through 
means  of  organizing  the  experiences  of  children — through  free 
activity,  directed  play,  social  cooperations,  song,  dramatics, 
esthetic  activities,  etc. — so  this  school  of  religion  will  be  organ* 
ized  under  the  direction  of  those  who  understand  how  to  direct 
and  organize  all  the  powers  and  interests  of  the  lives  of  children 
so  that  they  may  develop  as  religious  persona  and  toward  a  re- 
ligious society. 

In  an  essentially  new  enterprise  there  is  the  fine  opportunity 
to  begin  at  the  highest  current  point  of  educational  knowledge; 
there  is  the  opportunity  to  break  with  traditions.  Here  we  have  a 
freedom  that  public  schools  do  not  enjoy.  We  must  think  this 
new  school  out  in  educational  terms,  that  is,  in  the  terms  of  all 
that  educational  science  has  to  teach  and  in  terms  of  the  full 
circle  of  children's  religious  needs,  and  of  the  whole  purpose  of  a 
religious  society. 

The  question  to  be  faced  is  not.  What  are  we  going  to  teach? 
It  is,  rather.  What  is  the  ultimate  purpose  of  religious  training 
and  what  may  the  week-day  school  do  toward  attaining  that  pur- 
pose? Thus  the  school  is  regarded  as  one  means,  not  the  sole 
means,  used  in  the  total  program  of  the  church  with  the  young. 

Third. — The  danger  of  dependence  on  the  puhlic-school  system. 
To  many  it  seems  that  the  public  schools  can  and  ought  to  furnish 
the  facilities  for  religious  instruction;  it  is  often  proposed  that 
schoolrooms  shall  be  iised,  or  that  the  teachers  shall  be  taken 
from  their  regular  daily  work  and  assigned  to  the  tasks  of  the 
school  of  religion,  or  that  the  authority  of  the  school  shall  be 
invoked  to  compel  or  persuade  children  to  attend  the  religious 
school.  Few  courses  involve  greater  danger.  If  in  any  way  the 
system  of  religious  instruction  is  made  dependent  upon  the  state 
it  will  fail  for  two  reasons:  it  will  meet  the  unceasing  and  vig- 
orous opposition  of  all  those  who  object  to  the  hand  or  the  aid 
of  the  state  in  religious  matters,  and  it  will  soon  lose  the  support, 
the  interest  and  aid,  of  the  voluntary  agencies  upon  which  this 
work  must  depend.  Zeal  for  the  accomplishment  of  religious 
instruction  must  not  lead  to  the  adoption  of  means  which  we  seek 
to  justify  under  the  mistaken  plea  that  the  ends  are  so  high  and 
worthy. 

Week-day  religious  instruction  must  be  maintained  as  a  sep- 
arate system  from  general  public  education  for  the  following  quite 
adequate  reasons:  First,  because  of  the  American  principle  of 
the  separation  of  church  and  state;  this  involves  more  thap«  a 


DANGERS  121 

policy  of  the  state;  it  involves  the  freedom,  the  independence  of 
religious  bodies.  Second,  because  the  very  processes  of  religious 
training  demand  and  need  the  voluntary,  constant  and  immediate 
care  and  support  of  the  free  religious  agencies.  The  churches 
need  the  consciousness  of  their  serious  and  definite  responsibility 
for  the  religious  nurture  of  children ;  children  need  the  conscious- 
ness of  the  churches  as  nurtural  agencies,  as  offering  to  them  this 
constant  service  of  love.  Third,  the  methods  of  religious  training 
in  these  schools  must  be  under  the  direction  of  bodies  which  are 
very  close  to  them;  so  close  that  these  processes  can  be  readily 
tjhanged,  that  adaptations  can  be  made,  that  these  processes  can 
be  kept  flexible,  so  that  the  work  of  the  schools  can  be  held 
responsive  to  developing  spiritual  ideals.  The  week-day  school 
of  religion  must  be  saved  from  the  process  of  fixation  that  occurs 
in  so  large  an  agency  as  that  of  public  education.  Fourth^  the 
aims  of  religious  education  are  not  the  same  as  the  aims  of  general 
education;  this  involves  differences  in  method  which  necessarily 
separate  the  processes  of  religious  education  from  the,  at  present, 
intellectualistic  processes  of  public  schools. 

The  importance  of  clear  separation  between  the  public  school 
and  the  school  of  religion  becomes  clear  if  we  keep  in  mind  the 
fact  that  the  latter  is,  first  of  all,  an  institution  with  a  religious 
purpose,  in  the  achievement  of  which  the  educational  method  is 
used.  The  primary  and  deciding  emphasis  is  religious.  As  an 
institution  it  must  cultivate  an  atmosphere  of  religion;  it  must 
offer  a  social  experience  in  religion;  the  total  impress  of  all  that 
it  does  with  and  for  children  must  be  religious.  This  dominat- 
ing purpose  is  lost  and  the  religious  process  is  weakened  in  the 
degree  that  these  schools  are  divorced  from  the  churches  and 
identified  with  public  agencies. 

It  seems  necessary  to  urge  these  considerations  with  the  utmost 
emphasis  because  of  the  temptation  which  will  appear  in  many 
places  to  take  the  easy  way  of  turning  this  work  over  as  largely 
as  possible  to  the  public  schools.  There  are  instances  in  which 
this  is  now  being  done.  One  understands  the  situation;  here  are 
these  unused  classrooms,  these  sympathetic  principals  and  teach- 
ers, and  all  the  machinery  of  public  education ;  what  more  natural 
than  to  use  these  efficiencies  when  it  can  be  done  without  public 
strife?  But,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  the  real  efficiencies  do  not  lie  in 
this  direction.  The  plan  seems  to  solve  many  immediate  and 
intricate  problems  of  organization  and  equipment.  But,  when 
adopted,  it  simply  side-tracks  the  plan  of  a  week-day  school  of 
religion  and  substitutes  for  it  only  an  extension  of  the  influence 


122         THE  WEEK-DAY  CHURCH-SCHOOL 

and  curriculum  of  the  public  school.  It  sets  the  plans  of  religious 
instructions  within  the  necessary  limitations  of  general  education. 
It  serves  to  identify  yet  more  fully  and  completely  the  child's 
experience  with  public  agencies  and  to  separate  that  experience 
from  the  life  of  a  religious  agency. 

The  last  mentioned  consideration  may  not  be  the  most  impor- 
tant one,  but  it  is  worthy  of  our  study ;  if  we  carry  to  its  logical 
conclusions  the  plan  to  integrate  religious  instruction  in  the  public 
schools,  what  contacts  will  there  remain  for  growing  children  with 
the  life  of  the  churches?  We  have  already  taken  from  the  family 
many  of  its  means  of  training  children  and  turned  them  over  to 
the  state;  much  that  the  churches  once  did  for  the  young  is 
already  taken  over  by  public  agencies;  shall  we  now,  for  sake  of 
a  little  saving  of  money  or  of  energy,  or  for  some  apparent 
immediate  advantage,  turn  over  to  these  public  agencies  the  last 
of  our  relationships  with  children? 

Maintain,  at  all  costs,  religious  freedom.  Keep  from  these 
schools  all  possibility  that  they  shall  be  subject  to  political  control 
or  liable  to  any  form  of  exploitation.  State  controlled  religious 
instruction  is  a  short  way  to  state  ecclesiasticism. 

And  yet,  without  modifying  our  independence,  it  is  important 
to  keep  the  two  schools  close  together  in  the  consciousness  of 
children  in  order  that  there  may  be  real  unity  in  their  educational 
experience.  Schedules  can  be  closely  coordinated;  school  customs 
can  be  followed  and  school  standards  observed,  so  that  children 
shall  think  of  religion  as  on  the  same  level  of  importance,  at 
least,  as  the  other  elements  of  education. 

Fourth. — The  danger  of  wreck  on  sectarian  divisions.  When- 
ever the  work  of  religious  instruction  is  seriously  undertaken  two 
facts  appear:  that,  at  least,  for  large  groups  of  Christian 
churches,  there  are  no  essential  differences  in  the  school  experience 
of  children;  and,  next,  the  week-day  schools  are  too  large  an 
enterprise  for  churches  to  undertake  separately.  Certain  other 
considerations  will  appear  to  thoughtful  persons,  such  as  that  it  is 
always  unfortunate  to  make  children  conscious  of  any  kinds  of 
divisive  groups,  that  a  unified,  common  plan  for  all  children  is 
most  likely  to  win  hearty  community  support  and  cooperation, 
and  that  a  common  experience  of  religious  training  for  all  chil- 
dren would  be  the  very  finest  and  most  effective  kind  of  prepara- 
tion for  their  future  religious  cooperation  and  unity. 

Surely  we  must  hope  for  a  united  religious  life,  for  a  Christian 
church  that  stands  and  works  together ;  in  that  case  we  must  regard 
as  most  unhappy  any  plans  that  would  accentuate  in  children 


DANGERS  123 

divisions  along  religious  lines.  A  common  religious  experience 
for  all  children  will  develop  sympathy,  cooperation  and  faith  in  a 
continuous  common  religious  life  for  all. 

Cooperation  is  the  keyword.  But  cooperation  is  more  than  a 
word ;  it  is  a  way  of  working ;  essentially  it  is  the  practice  of  the 
life  of  a  Christian  society.  The  week-day  school  is  an  opportunity 
for  many  churches  together  to  demonstrate  that  they  can  practice 
Christianity.  Cooperation  is  possible  when  major  purposes  con- 
trol. The  minor  purposes  are  not  abandoned ;  they  are  prevented 
from  frustrating  the  major  ones.  The  major  purpose  is  that  all 
our  children  shall  have  full  opportunity  to  learn  the  religious  way 
of  life;  the  minor  purpose  that  is  likely  to  hinder  is  that  children 
shall  be  loyal  to  our  own  particular  group  or  organization.  The 
week-day  school  will  be  a  touchstone  for  many  a  church,  a  test 
of  whether  the  Kingdom  of  God  or  the  local  institution  is  the 
all-important  consideration. 

If  our  particular  views  are  of  sufficient  importance  to  separate 
us  from  others  they  are  sufficiently  important  to  make  us  provide 
for  teaching  them ;  they  lay  on  us  obligations  to  provide  teachers 
and  means  of  teaching  in  addition  to  the  general  schools  of  re- 
ligion. This  teaching  will  be  the  duty  of  pastors  and  other 
persons,  selected  in  each  church  for  that  particular  task.  It  will 
not  be  the  duty  of  the  school  provided  for  all,  nor  need  it  in  any 
way  interfere  with  the  work  of  that  school. 

Keep  the  major  purposes  steadily  in  view.  The  price  of  co- 
operation always  comes  high,  but  the  prize  is  higher  yet. 

Can  the  price  of  cooperation  come  too  high?  Yes,  when  it 
defeats  the  major  purpose.  With  all  our  emphasis  on  united 
schools  we  have  to  reckon  with  situations  in  which  fair  and  broad- 
minded  persons  must,  in  all  good  conscience,  cease  to  cooperate. 
That  would  be  the  case  when  particularist  and  divisive  teachings 
prevail  in  these  schools,  when  they  become  the  instruments  of 
sectarians  or  of  those  who  are  more  zealous  for  their  views  than 
for  religion.  The  most  difficult  problem  for  the  school  of  religion 
is  to  develop  a  curriculum  upon  which  all  good  people  will  agree. 
That  cannot  be  done  by  the  discovery  of  any  irreducible  minimum 
of  doctrine.     Unity  does  not  lie  in  any  common  creed. 

If  the  week-day  school  seeks  to  found  its  curriculum  upon  any 
common  creed  it  will  have  to  reduce  that  creed  to  a  meaningless 
minimum.  But  the  curriculum  is  not,  or  should  not,  be  one  of 
creed,  but  rather  one  of  purpose.  Its  starting  point  is  not  a 
series  of  doctrinal  formulae.  It  is  concerned  with  lives  and  is 
directed  toward  the  life  of  a  religious  society.    It  seeks,  not  that 


124  THE  WEEK-DAY  CHURCH-SCHOOL 

children  shall  be  able  to  repeat  definitions  of  God,  but  that  they 
shall  discover  for  themselves  ideals  and  definitions  of  life  and  be 
so  guided  that  they  shall  love  God  and  live  as  his  children. 
Churches  may  teach  their  differing  interpretations;  but  it  is  for 
this  common  school  to  develop  a  common  and  commanding  pur- 
pose, that  of  doing  the  will  of  God  in  a  loving  society. 

To  some  it  may  seem  to  be  impossible  to  avoid  the  sectarian 
difficulty,  and  that,  at  the  best,  we  shall  have  several  schools,  each 
conducted  by  a  group  of  churches,  as  e.g.,  the  orthodox,  the 
ritualistic,  and  the  liberal  groups.  That  may  be  the  ease.  It  will 
be  the  case  if  we  are  controlled  by  lesser  aims  or  if  control  falls 
into  the  hands  of  narrow-minded  persons.  Those  who  stand  for 
freedom  of  faith  are  not  likely  to  submit  their  children  to  bond- 
age ;  and  those  who  believe  in  the  liberty  of  light  and  truth  cannot 
yield  their  children  to  superstition. 

But  we  must  hope  for  better  things  and  seek  to  realize  them. 
Perhaps  the  first  step  is  to  rid  our  minds  wholly  of  the  thought 
that  it  is  the  purpose  of  these  schools  to  make  Baptists,  or 
Methodists,  or  Presbyterians,  or  Unitarians.  Let  each  church, 
separately,  take  care  of  that.  Are  we  concerned  dominantly  with 
this:  that  the  children  to-day,  the  society  of  to-morrow,  shall 
make  a  religious  citizenship?  Then  let  the  school  be  directed  to 
this  single  end  that  children  shall  form  the  purposes  of  a  religious 
society.  They  are  not  to  be  concerned,  so  far  as  this  school 
teaches  them,  with  the  relations  of  Moses  to  the  Pentateuch,  but 
with  the  ways  by  which  they  and  all  men  may  do  the  will  of 
God.  The  ways  of  that  life  they  can  learn ;  are  we  ready  to  teach 
them"?  Is  our  prayer  for  the  kingdom  of  God  more  to  us  than 
our  separating  opinions'? 

But  it  will  be  better  that  each  group  or  even  each  church  shall 
conduct  its  own  school  than  that  the  community  school  be  the 
arena  of  doctrinal  strife  and  the  football  of  fighting  ecclesiastical 
teams.  Separate  church  schools  are  not  only  vastly  better  than 
no  schools  at  all,  they  are  better  than  schools  which  train  children 
in  strife.  Better  separate  schools  in  mutual  self-respect  than 
syndicated  schools  in  bitterness  and  controversy.  Whatever  we 
do  for  children  we  dare  not  make  our  religion  mean  just  so  many 
barriers  and  stumbling  blocks  in  the  way  of  their  brotherly  rela- 
tions with  other  men. 


CHAPTER  XV 
THE  CURRICULUM 

The  temptation  is  almost  irresistible  to  turn  to  discuss  the 
principles  of  making  a  curriculum  for  this  school,  to  point  out 
the  peculiar  opportunities  offered  for  abandoning  the  traditions 
of  Sunday-school  curricula  and  the  opportunity,  in  this  new 
venture,  to  organize  a  course  of  experience  in  the  religious  life, 
instead  of  a  course  of  instruction  about  religion.  But  this  is  a 
book  of  practical  methods,  particularly  recounting  what  has  been 
done,  and  theory  must  be  left  to  others. 

Yet  this  must  be  said,  for  the  sake  of  all  contemplating  week- 
day instruction:  all  curricula  must  be  tested  by  several  simple 
principles.  These  are :  First,  the  purpose  of  the  school  will  de- 
termine the  curriculiun ;  Second,  the  curriculum  must  be  conceived 
in  terms  of  the  active  experience  of  children ;  it  must  be  a  way  of 
guiding  their  experience;  Third,  it  must  develop,  move  forward 
with  their  development;  Fourth,  its  content  and  method  must  be 
determined  by  the  known  processes  under  which  children  do  come 
to  know,  and  love  and  effectively  will  the  life  of  a  religious 
society. 

CURRICULUM  GUmANCE 

These  considerations  lead  naturally  to  the  statement  of  certain 
fruits  of  practical  experience.  First,  every  school  or  school  sys- 
tem needs  a  committee  on  curriculum.  This  should  be  composed 
of  persons  of  trained  educational  expertness.  Second,  the  cur- 
riculum should  be  under  constant  observation  and  testing;  every 
school  or  school  system  needs  the  services  of  an  expert  supervisor 
who  can  understand  what  is  happening  with  children  as  they  are 
led  through  the  course  of  study.  Third,  pupils  should  contribute 
their  guidance,  not  simply  by  expressing  their  preference  for 
subjects  of  study,  but  by  exercising  their  growing  powers  of 
democratic  group  control,  in  determining  the  purpose,  the 
projects  of  group  activity.  Fourth,  every  Board  should  become 
thoroughly  familiar  with  all  the  material  of  curricula  now  in  use 
in  schools,  especially  with  advance  experiments  in  this  field. 

125 


126         THE  WEEK-DAY  CHURCH-SCHOOL 


SOME  PROBLEMS 

Before  examining  the  curricula  in  use  certain  difficulties,  com- 
mon to  all  communities,  must  be  faced.  Fii-st,  relations  to  the 
curriculum  of  the  Sunday  school.  The  temptation  is  to  simply 
duplicate  the  work  of  the  Sunday  class  in  these  week-day  classes. 
That  is  a  serious  mistake;  it  is  a  waste  of  time  if  the  work  on 
Sunday  has  any  value  at  all;  it  complicates  the  schedules  of 
community  schools;  the  week-day  schools  have  a  different  group- 
ing of  children,  including  many  others  than  those  in  the  Sunday 
schools;  and  the  lessons  of  the  latter  have  not  been  planned  for 
the  type  of  teaching  and  the  grade  of  teachers  in  week-day 
work.  The  week-day  course  should  be  independent,  having  only 
such  relations  as,  for  example,  separate  courses  have  in  the  public 
schools. 

But  one  form  of  relationship  is  possible;  the  Sunday  school 
may  furnish  a  most  desirable  opportunity  for  the  training  of 
larger  groups  in  worship,  and  for  any  special  instruction  which 
the  day  school  cannot  or  does  not  give. 

Second,  relations  to  the  public-school  curriculum.  (1)  The 
public  school  has  no  control  over  the  content  of  instruction;  (2) 
but  it  has  the  right  to  insist  that  in  method,  in  standards  of 
teaching  the  week-day  work  shall  measure  up  to  its  own;  (3) 
frequent  conferences  of  teachers  and  administrators  will  always 
be  helpful. 

We  turn  now  to  consider  the  courses  that  are  in  use,  or  have 
been  especially  prepared  for  the  use  of  week-day  schools. 

I.     THE   ABINGDON    WEEK-DAY   SERIES 

The  "Results  of  Five  Years  of  'Experimental  WorTc  in  the  Schools  a/t 
Gari/,  Indiana;  Van  Wert,  Ohio,  and  at  Other  Places 

The  series  is  planned  on  the  basis  of  a  church-school  year  running 
approximately  parallel  with  the  public-school  year.  The  lessons  for 
each  year  provide  material  for  from  thirty-two  to  thirty-six  weekg. 
Correlations  are  maintained  with  the  public-school  curriculum  and 
with  that  of  the  church.  The  subject-matter  has  a  variety  of  biblical 
content,  and  also  freely  draws  from  literature,  biography,  nature 
and  life. 

Beginning  with  the  kindergarten  and  continuing  to  the  age  of  nine, 
one  book  is  provided  for  each  year;  from  the  age  of  nine,  each  text 
deals  with  one  central  theme,  and  two  texts,  each  covering  one  semester 
of  lessons,  are  provided  for  each  year. 


THE  CURRICULUM  127 


PBE-SCHOOL  AGE 

Birth  to  School  Age — 

The  Mother-Teacher  op  Religion  (Material  for  the  earliest  les- 
sons in  religion  in  the  home.  Stories,  songs  and  hymns,  prayers, 
pictures,  lessons,  games.  Brief  discussions  of  methods  in  first 
religious  impressions).    Anna  Freelove  Beits. 

Age  4-5,  Kindergarten — 

The  Beginners  Book  in  Religion  (A  Teacher's  Manual  of  Kinder- 
garten Lessons  for  the  church  school).     Edna  Bean  BaJcer. 

Songs  for  the  Little  Child  (Simple  songs  for  children  in  kinder- 
garten Lessons  for  the  church  school).    Edm,a  Dean  Baker. 


THE  elementary  SCHOOL 

Beginning  School  Age  to  11,  Grades  I-VI — 

A  First  Book  in  Hymns  and  Worship  (Songs  and  hymns  and 
brief  rituals  of  worship  adapted  to  children  below  twelve). 

Edith  Lovell  Thomas. 

Age  6,  Grade  I — 
A  First  Primary  Book  in  Religion  (Planned  to  lead  a  child  to  a 
religious  interpretation  of  his  world.     God  in  nature,  in  the  home 
church,  and  everyday  life).    Elisaierth  Colson. 

Age  7,  Grade  II — 

A  Second  Primary  Book  in  Religion  (Planned  to  broaden  and 
enrich  the  child's  concept  of  God  and  of  Jesus.  Cultivation  of 
the  earlier  virtues).    Elizabeth  Colson. 

Age  9,  Grade  IV — 

Tales  of  Golden  Deeds  (Stories  from  the  Bible  and  other  sources 
used  to  teach  lessons  of  religion  through  the  child's  love  for  the 
heroic).    Dorothy  Donnell  Calhomi. 

Age  10,  Grade  V — 

A  Travel  Book  for  Juniors  (Journeys  in  Palestine  and  other 
lands  of  special  religious  interest,  including  centers  of  modem 
missionary  activity).    Helen  Patten  Hanson. 

Age  11,  Grade  VI— 

The  Rules  of  the  Game   (Discussion  of  everyday  life  and  duty 

under  religious  ideals  of  personal  responsibility  for  conduct  and 

character).     Floyd  TV.  Lambertson. 
FoLLovp^ERs  OF  THE  MARKED  TRAIL   (Material,  chlefly  biblical,  on 

great  leaders).    Nannie  Lee  Frayser. 


128         THE  WEEK-DAY  CHURCH-SCHOOL 


JUNIOE  HIGH  SCHOOL 

Age  12,  Grade  VII— 

Training  the  Junior  Citizen  (Handbook  for  Leaders  and  Teachers 
of  Boys;  Program  and  Materials  for  training  American  ideals). 

Nathaniel  F.  Forsyth. 

The  Geography  of  Bible  Lands    (Biblical  geography  from  the 
modem  historic,  social  and  economic  point  of  view;  to  give  the 
pupil  a  sympathetic  and  intelligent  background  of  the  peoples  and 
places  in  biblical  narrative).    Eena  Crosby. 
Age  13,  Grade  VIII— 

Living  at  Our  Best  (Applies  the  religious  motive  to  daily  living  in 
matters    of    health,    work    and    recreation,    achievement,    thrift, 
service,  good-will,  and  happiness).     Mable  Hill. 
Age  14,  Grade  IX — 

Hebrew  Life  and  Times  (Historical  lessons  on  the  social,  economic, 
X)olitical,  and  religious  life  of  the  Hebrews,  to  emphasize  their 
ethical  and  spiritual  ideals  and  to  reveal  the  Hebrew  foundations 
of  Christianity).     Harold  B.  Hunti/iig. 
Age  14,  Grade  IX — Cont. — 

Life  and  Times  of  Jesus  (A  narrative  study  of  the  life  of  Jesus, 
stressing  both  his  teachings  and  the  significance  of  his  human 
relationships  in  furnishing  modem  standards  and  ideals). 

Frederick  C.  Grant. 

When  Wie  Join  the  Church  (Lessons  preparing  for  church  mem- 
bership, what  the  church  is,  its  great  past,  its  present  achieve- 
ments and  program.  How  the  church  serves  its  members  and 
what  it  expects  in  return,  arranged  for  adaption  by  different 
churches).    Archie  L.  By  an. 

II.      WESTMINSTER   AND   KEYSTONE   LESSONS 

The  Presbyterian  Board  publishes,  quarterly,  outlines  of  lesson 
material  supplementary  to  the  "departmental  graded  lessons"  for 
the  Primary,  Junior  and  Intermediate  Departments.  They  are 
designed  for  teachers,  and  each  la^sson  contains  suggestions  on 
memoiy  material  and  on  hand-work.  These  lesson  quarterlies 
may  be  regarded  as  a  useful  temporary  expedient  to  be  used  by 
schools  which  keep  the  week-day  work  closely  correlated  to  the 
Sunday  lessons  and  which  have  not  prepared  or  cannot  yet  use 
special  lesson  courses. 

The  Baptists  are  following  the  plan  of  the  Presbyterians,  just 
described,  in  adopting  departmental  lessons  based  on  a  Sunday- 
school  course. 

These  plans  must  prove  unsatisfactory  for  they  simply  patch 
together  old  lesson  material  prepared  for  a  different  type  of 
school  and  are  not  conceived  in  educational  terms. 


THE  CURRICULUM  129 

in.      CHURCH  OP  ATONEMENT,  NEW  YORK  dTT 
(Evangelical  Lutheran) 

The  mm:  Keeping  the  Child  constantly  in  mind,  there  is  one 
aim  expressed  in  a  threefold  way,  which  the  Church  of  the  Atone- 
ment keeps  to  the  fore  in  her  week-day  classes : 

1.  To  foster  a  growing  Love  for  Christ,  and  His  Teachings. 

2.  To  develop  Loyalty  and  Love  for  the  Church,  her  History 
and  Her  Teachings.  * 

3.  To  assist  the  Children  in  Living  the  Christian  Life  each  day. 

Kindergarten — Saturday  9:30  a.  m. — 8%  years  and  under. 

Bible  Stories. 

Drill  on  three  parts  of  Catechism^  without  meaning. 

Morning  and  Evening  Prayers, 

Kindergarten  Games  and  Songs  with  Christian  idea  predominating. 

Hymns. 

Bihle  Beading — ^Monday,  4  p.  m. — 8*/^  to   9%  years.    Division  B. 

9%  to  10%  years.    Divis^ion  A. 
Children 's  Bible  Beading — Old  Testament. 
Children's  Bible  Beading — New  Testament. 
Drill  on  three  parts  of  Catechism,  without  meaning. 
Prayers. 

Hymns — ^Commit  five  in  each  Division. 
The  Church  Service  begun. 
Memory  verses. 

Intermediates — ^Wednesday,  4  p.  m. — ^10%  to  11%  years.  Division  B. 

11%  to  12%  years.  Division  A. 
Bible  Biography  in  **Hero''  stories — Old  Testament. 
Bible  Biography  in  '  *  Hero '  *  stories — New  Testament. 
Drill  on  three  parts  of  Catechism,  with  meaning. 
Hymns — Commit  five  in  each  Division, 
Prayers — Morning,  for  Peace,  Church,  and  Table. 
The  Church  Service  completed. 
Biblical  and  Church  Festivals  begun. 
Books  of  Bible  memorized. 
Church  attendance  and  oral  report  of  Sermon. 
Memory  verses. 

Preparatory — Thursday,  4  p.  m. — 12%  to  13%  years. 

Books  of  Bible  studied  in  connection  with  story,  geography,  etc. 

Maps,  Jerusalem — Temple. 

Text  hunting. 

Memory  verses. 

Review  of  entire  Catechism  and  drill  on  fourth  and  fifth  parts* 


130         THE  WEEK-DAY  CHURCH-SCHOOL 

Church  Year. 

Eeview  of  25  Hymns  learned  in  lower  grades. 

Church  attendance  and  written  report  of  Sermon. 

Cf^firnmtion — Tuesday,  4  and  7:45  p.  m. — 13%  years  and  above. 
Friday,     4  and  7:45  p.  m. 
Explanation  of  Catechism  with  Scriptural  Proof  and  Support. 
Biblical  and  Church  Festivals. 
Church  Year  Completed. 
Church  furniture,  architecture  and  symbols. 
Memory  verses. 
Church  attendance  and  written  report  of  Sermon. 

Biblical  and  Modem  Missions  are  emphasized  in  each  grade  j  also 
outstanding  facts  in  Church  History  and  important  events  in  the  lives 
of  Christian  Leaders  are  stressed  to  those  in  advanced  grades. 

Written  tests  are  conducted  at  given  times  in  those  grades  where 
it  is  practical  and  to  an  advantage. 

Post-Confirmation. 

Class  organized  with  special  reference  to  further  developing  Chris- 
tian Life  and  Service. 

Teacher-training  Course  in  connection  with  Sunday  school — ^a 
two-year  course. 

Bible  Study  in  groups — Course  to  be  determined. 

Practical  Inner  Mission  work. 

Leadership  Training  Class — To  develop  special  leaders  in  church 
work.    Meeting  every  Wednesday,  9  p.  m. 


IV.      FIRST  LUTHERAN  CHURCH,  DAYTON,  OHIO 
SUMMER  SCHOOL 

The  curriculum  of  this  school  should  be  studied  in  the  light  of  the 
full  report  of  the  work  of  the  school  grade,  given  in  Chapter  X. 
Kinderffo/rten — 

8:30 — ^Prayer.    Salute  to  the  flag.    Good  morning  songs.    Mem- 
ory verses.    Bible  Study. 
9:00— Rest  period. 
9:10 — Table  period. 
9:45 — Marching  period. 
10:00 — Recess. 

10:10 — Story  period.    Memory  work.    Psalm  23. 
Kindergarten  Source  of  Books: — 

*'A  Course  for  Beginners  in  Religious  Education,''  Mary 

E.  Rankin   (Scribner's). 
"The  Sunday   Kindergarten,"  Carrie  Ferris    (The  Uni- 
versity of  Chicago  Press). 


THE  CURRICULmi  131 

Grade  1 — 

8:30 — Prajer.    Bible  study: — Sheep  stories.    Baby  stories.    Chil- 
dren stories.    Animal  stories. 
9:30 — Memory  work. 

Ten  Commandments.     Psalm  23.    St.  Matthew  XIX:  14. 
9:45 — Eeereation  period. 
9:55 — The  Assembly:     a.  Devotional  period. 

b.  Study  of  Hymns. 
10:35 — Mission  Study: 

"Children  of  Mission  Lands" — Indians  and  Eskimos. 
11:05 — Games. 
11:30 — Dismissal. 

Grade  I,  Source  Books: — 

*' Graded  Bible  Stories, "  Mutch  (Christian  Nurture  Press). 

*'Five  Little  Strangers''  (American  Book  Co.). 

*' Mission   Children,"  books   1   and  2,   Griggs    (Ameriean 

Baptist  Publication  Society). 
**A1I  Around  the  World"  (Silver,  Burdett  &  Co.). 

Grade  2 — 

8:30 — Prayer.     Bible  Study: — Stories  of  Good  People.     Stories 
of   the   House   of   God.     Stories   about  prayer.     Storifea 
about  giving. 
9:30 — Memory  work. 

Ten  Commandments.    Psalm  I.    St.  Matthew  V:l-B. 
9:45 — Eecrestion  period. 
9:55 — The  Assembly:     a.  Devotional  period. 

b.  Study  of  Hymns. 
10:35— Mission  Study: 

"Children    of    Mission    Lands" — Japanese    and    Chinese 
Children. 
11:05 — Games. 
11 :  30 — Dismissal. 

Grade  2,  Source  Books: — 

"Graded  Bible  Stories,"  Mutch. 

' ' Little  People  of  Japan, ' '  Muller  (Flanagan  Co.,  Chicago). 
"Mook, "  Seitz   (Central  Committee  on  the  United  Study 
of  Foreign  Missions). 
Grade  3 — 

8:30 — Prayer.     Bible  Study: — Kinsm-an  stories.    Brother  stories. 

Parent  and  children  stories.     Jesus  and  his  friends. 
9  :  30 — Memory  work : 

Ten  Commandments.    Psalm  24.    St.  Matthew  V:l-12. 
9 :  45 — Eeereation  period. 
9:55 — The  Assembly:     a.  Devotional  period. 

b.  Study  of  Hymns. 


132  THE  WEEK-DAY  CHURCH-SCHOOL 

10 :  35— Mission  Study : 

** Heroes  of  Modem  Missions"  (selected). 
11  ^50 — ^Dismissal. 

Grade  3,  Source  Books: — 

' '  Graded  Bible  Stories, ' '  Mutch. 

** Heroes  of  Modern  Missions,"  Chipman  (American  Bap- 
tist Publication  Society). 
''Child  Life  in  Japan,"  Ayrton  (D.  C.  Heath  &  Co.). 

Grade  4 —       \ 

8:30 — Prayer.     Bible  Study: — Brother  and  Friend  stories.    Par- 
ables of  Jesus.    Wilderness  tales.     Tales  of  the  Judges. 
9:30 — Memory  work. 

Ten  Commandments.    Psalm  8.    St.  Matthew  V:l-12. 
9:45 — Eecreation  period. 
9:55 — The  Assembly:     a.  Devotional  period. 

b.  Study  of  hymns. 
10 :55— Mission  Study: 

*  *  Heroes  of  Modern  Missions ' ' — Chalmers,  Heyre,  Greiif  ell 
and  others. 
11  :^0 — ^Dismissal. 

Chrade  4,  Source  Books: — 

''Graded  Bible  Stories,"  Mutch. 

"Tales   of   the  Labrador,"   Grenfell    (Houghton,   Mifflin 

&  Co.). 
"Adrift    on    an    Icepan,"    Grenfell    (Houghton,    Mifflin 

&  Co.). 
"Dr.  Luke  of  the  Labrador,"  Duncan  (Revell  Co.). 
"Missionary    Heroes    of    the    Lutheran    Church,"    Wolff 

(The  Lutheran  Publication  Society). 
"Men  of  Mark  in  Modern  Missions,"  Grose    (American 

Baptist  Publication  Society). 

Grade  5 — 

8:30 — ^Prayer.     Bible  Study: — ^Primitive  hero   tales.     Tales   of 
true  heroism.     Tales  of  Kings  and  Prophets.     Tales  of 
Queen  Esther. 
9:30 — Memory  Work:  Ten  Commandments.  I  Corinthians  XIII. 

Books  of  the  Bible. 
9:45 — ^Recreation  period. 
9:55 — The  Assembly:     a.  Devotional  period. 

b.  Study  of  hymns. 
10:35 — Mission  Study: 

' '  Life  of  John  G.  Paton. "   "  Story  of  Lutheran  Missions. ' ' 
11:^5— "The  Story  of  Our  Bible,"  Hunting  (Seribner's). 

Dramatization  of  Bible  Stories. 
11 :30 — Dismissal. 


THE  CURRICULUM  133 

Grade  5,  Source  Books: — 

*' Graded  Bible  Stories,"  Mutch. 

''Life  of  John  G.  Paton.'' 

*  *  Men  of  Mark  in  Modern  Missions, '  *  Grose. 

''The  Telugu  Mission,''  Draeh  and  Kuder  (The  Lutheran 

Publication  Society). 
"The  Story  of  Our  Bible,"  Hunting  (Seribner's). 
' '  The  Dramatization  of  Bible  -Btories, ' '  Miller. 
Grade  6— 

8:30 — Prayer.     Bible  Story: — The  Patriarchs — Abraham,  Isaac, 

Jacob,  Joseph.    Moses,  the  Leader. 
9:30 — Memory  Work: 

Ten  Commandments.     Psalm  103.     I  Corinthians  XXIII. 
9 :  45 — Eecreation  period. 
9:55 — The  Assembly:     a.  Devotional  period. 

b.  Study  of  hymns. 
10:35 — Mission  Study:     "Life  of  David  Livingstone." 
11:05— "The  Story  of  Our  Bible,"  Hunting. 
11:30 — Dismissal. 

Grade  6,  Source  Books: — 

"Graded  Bible  Stories,"  Mutch. 
"Heroes  of  the  Faith,"  Gates  (Seribner's). 
"Life  of  David  Livingstone,"  Blaikie. 
"Life  of  David  Livingstone,"  Golding. 
' '  Boys '  Books  of  Exploration, ' '  Jenks. 
"Price  of  Africa,"  Taylor. 
"The  Story  of  Lutheran  Mi^ons. " 
' '  The  Story  of  Our  Bible, ' '  Hunting. 
"The  Dramatization  of  Bible  Stories,"  Miller. 
Grade  7 — 

8:30 — Prayer.    Bible  Study: — Judges  and  Kings. 
9:30— Memory  Work: 

Ten  Commandments.     Romans  XU. 
9 :  45 — Recreation  period. 
9:55 — The  Assembly:     a.  Devotional  period. 

b.  Study  of  hynms. 
10:35— Mission  Study: 

"Up  from  Slavery,"  by  Booker  T.  Washington. 
11:05— "The  Story  of  Our  Bible,"  Hunting. 

"Dramatization  of  Bible  Stories." 
11 :30 — Dismissal. 

Grade  7,  Source  Books: — 

' '  Graded  Bible  Stories, ' '  Mutch. 

"The  Life  of  Paul,"  Stalker. 

"The  Story  of  Our  Bible,"  Hunting. 

"Up  from  Slavery,"  Booker  T.  Washington. 

"Dramatization  of  Bible  Stories,"  Miller. 


134  THE  WEEK-DAY  CHURCH-SCHOOL 

Grade  8 — 

8:30— Prayer.    Bible  Study :—'* Life  and  Work  of  Christ." 
9:30 — Memory  vvork: 

Ten    Coiiimundments.     Psalms    19,    23,    24,    St.    Matthew 
V:l-12.     I  Corinthians  XIII.     Books  of  the  Bible. 
9:45 — Recreation  period. 
9:55 — The  Assembly:     a.  Devotional  period. 

b.  Study  of  hymns, 
10:35— Mission  Study:  ''Labrador  Doctor ' '—Wilfred  T.  Grenfell. 
11:05— Church  History.     ''Life  and  Work  of  St.  Paul.'' 

Dramatization  of  Bible  Stories. 
11:30 — ^Dismissal. 

Grade  8,  Source  Books: — 

"Stories  of  Ancient  Nations,"  Westermann. 
"Life  of  Christ,"  Stalker. 
"Life  of  Paul,"  Stalker. 
'  *  Labrador  Doctor, ' '  Grenfell. 
"Dramatization  of  Bible  Stories,"  Miller. 

High  School — 

8 :  45— Prayer.    Bible  Study :— ' '  The  Life  of  Christ "  and  "  Man- 
hood of  the  Master,"  by  Fosdick,  will  be  used  as  texts. 
9 :45 — ^Dismissal. 

High  School,  Source  Books: — 

Stalker— "Life  of  Christ." 
"  "Imago  Christi." 

"  "The  Trial  and  Death  of  Jesus." 

Burgess — "The  Life  of  Christ"   (University  of  Chicago 
Press). 

Littlefield— " The  Life  of  Christ"  (International). 

David  Smith— "In  the  Days  of  His  Flesh"  (Doran). 

Knight— "On   the  Way  to  Bethlehem." 

Gilbert— " Life  of  Jesus"  (Macmillan). 


V.      HYDE  PARK,   CHICAGO 

Planned  for  ten  weeks :  one  hour  a  week. 

Group  A — Children  of  Grades  One  and  Two    (Ages:   about  six  and 
seven). 

(1)  Exprcssional  Work:     The  reproduction  of  the  stor- 
ies by  drawing,  dramatization,  sand-table  work,  etc. 

(2)  Bible  stories  taken  from  the  Old  Testament:  two  or 
three  story  miits. 

(3)  Memory  Work:     Hymns — "For  the  Beauty  of  the 
Earth"  and  "Can  a  Little  Child  Like  Me?" 


THE  CURRICULUM  135 

Group  JP— -Children  of  Grades  Three  and  Four   (Ages:  about  eight 
and  nine). 

(1)  Class  Work: 

(a)  The  Lord's  Prayer  and  one  other  prayer. 

(b)  Hymns:  **The  King  of  Love  My  Shepherd 
Is, "  "  O  Beautiful  for  Spacious  Skies. ' ' 

(c)  Bible  Passages:  Proverb  6:20-22;  Luke  10: 
30-37;  Psalms  23,  24;  Matt.  5:1-12  (Kin^ 
James  Version). 

(2)  Story  Work:  A  study  of  five  leading  Old  Testa- 
ment characters:  Joseph,  Moses,  Euth,  David  and 
Daniel.  (Two  periods  on  each  one:  1st  and  6th 
periods  on  the  first  character,  etc.) 

Gr<mp  C — Children  of  Grades  Five  and  Six   (Ages:   about  ten  and 
eleven). 

(1)  Class  Work:     Same  as  for  Group 

(2)  Ten  Stories  of  Jesus,  e.g.: 

1.  The  Child  Jesus. 

2.  The  Beginning  of  His  Work  (Baptism,  Tempta- 
tion, or  r^rst  Disciples,  etc.). 

3.  The  Rich  Young  Ruler. 

4.  The  Sermon  on  the  Mount. 

5.  One  of  the  Parables. 

6.  Jesus  and  the  Twelve.  v 

7.  Jesus  Encountering  Opposition. 

8.  The  Last  Week  of  His  Life. 

9.  His  Trial. 

10.  The  Easter  Message. 

Group  D — Children  of  Grades  Seven  and  Eight  (Ages:  about  twelve 
and  thirteen). 

(1)  Ten  Lessons  on  "  Jesus ^s  Way  of  Behavior." 

(2)  Memory  Work: 

(a)  Same  hymns  as  above. 

(b)  Bible  passage:  1  Cor.  13   (Amer.  Rev.  Ver- 
sion). 

VI.      DAILY  VACATiaN"  BIBLE   SCHOOLS 

This  material  has  been  selected  by  the  Curriculum  Committee 
of  the  National  Conference  of  Presbyterian  Daily  Vacation  Bible 
Schools  for  all  standard  schools, 

I.    Bible  Lessons. 

1.  Kindergarten. 

Kindergarten   Manual — First  Series,   "Listening   to   Our 
Heavenly  Father,"  by  Florence  H.  Towne. 
Kindergarten    Manual — Second  Series,   ''Talking  to   Out 
Heavenly  Father,'*  by  Florence  H.  Towne. 


136         THE  WEEK-DAY  CHURCH-SCHOOL 

2.  Primary  (ages  6,  7,  8). 

*' Homes  and  Highways  of  Childhood." 
** Twenty-nine  Bible  Stories/'  Limouze. 

3.  Junior  (ages  9  and  above). 

*  *  The  Life  of  Jesus  and  How  We  Should  Live, ' '  Jackson. 

**God  and  Child  Life/'  Arthur  H.  Limouze. 

''Discoverers  of  a  New  America." 
(A  school  beginning  work  this  year  should  use  the  Bible  material 
■first  named  in  each  department.    A  two  years'  course  is  provided  in 
the  Kindergarten  and  a  three  years'  course  in  each  of  the  other 
departments.) 

II.  Habit  TalJcs. 

1.  Kindergarten.     Suggestions  in  the  *'ManuaL" 

2.  Primary  and  Junior. 

''Ethics  for  Children/'  Cabot. 

III.  Mission  Study. 

1.  Kindergarten.    Suggestions  in  the  "Manual/' 

2.  Primary  and  Junior. 

' '  Children 's  ^Missionary  Story  Sermons, ' '  Kerr, 

IF.    Craft  Work. 

1.  Kindergarten.    Suggestions  in  the  "Manual/' 

2.  Primary  and  Junior. 

"A  Manual  of  Craft  Work." 
F,    Memory  Work.    Prima/ry  and  Junior. 

Leaflet  "Memory  Work  for  the   Daily  Vacation  Bible 
School/' 

SELECTING  TEXT-BOOKS 

There  will  be  many  schools  which,  for  many  reasons,  must 
adhere  at  the  beginning  to  the  traditional  method  of  arranging  a 
curriculum,  that  is,  by  the  selection  of  text-books.  This  will  be 
the  case  where  (1)  teachers,  or  supervisors,  have  been  trained 
to  think  of  the  curriculum  from  the  knowledge-content  point  of 
view;  (2)  where  the  schools  have  been  organized  solely  to  meet 
the  demand  for  more  biblical  information;  (3)  where  time  and 
opportunity  is  lacking  to  plan  or  organize  an  articulated  scheme 
of  class  training.  Further,  definite  courses  will  still  continue  to 
find  their  centers  in  schemes  of  instruction;  at  least,  it  will  be 
some  time  before  the  newer  ideals  of  the  curriculum  make  any 
large  number  of  teachers  and  classes  more  largely  independent 
of  text-books,  and,  even  then,  they  will  have  to  contend  with  the 
text-book  expectations  of  the  public. 

In  beginning  the  work  of  a  school  the  committee  on  curriculum 
will,  in  many  cases,  begin  its  work  by  asking,  What  text-books 
are  now  available?    For  their  guidance  the  following  analyses  of 


THE  CURRICULUM  137 

complete  courses  now  in  use  in  church  schools  is  offered.  With 
the  exception  of  the  one  mentioned  first,  all  these  are  designed 
for  Sunday  schools:  in  some  instances  the  same  course  will  be 
followed  in  both  week-day  and  Sunday  schools,  in  the  manner 
already  described.  But  it  will  not  be  difficult,  and  it  will  usually 
be  found  advantageous,  given  one  course  in  the  Sunday  school, 
to  select  another,  or  parts  of  others  which  will  articulate  with 
the  work  in  the  Sunday  school. 

First,  to  mention  a  book  which  will  be  found  useful  in  all  the 
lower  grades,  and  can  be  made  the  basis  of  a  course  or  courses 
covering  a  year,  or  running  parallel  to  other  courses:  "Graded 
Bible  Stories,"  by  W.  T.  Mutch  (Christian  Nurture  Co.,  Ripon, 
Wisconsin). 

The  Abingdon  Series  * 

This  is  described  in  detail  at  an  earlier  part  of  this  discussion, 
of  curriculum.  At  the  time  of  writing  it  is  the  only  attempt  to 
provide  a  special,  complete  series  for  week-day  schools.  If  it 
continues  to  be  subject  to  full  experimentation,  observation  and 
wise  adaptation  to  modern  educational  principles  it  is  likely  to 
be  the  readiest  and  simplest  solution  of  the  problem  of  the  com- 
mittee on  curriculum.  In  no  case  can  any  committee  afford  to 
plan  its  work  without  examining  this  material. 

The  Completely  Graded  Series.^ 

Grade  1 — "God  the  Loving  Father  and  His  Children." 
Grade  2 — ^' God's   Loyal    Children   Learning    to    Live    Happily    To- 
gether. ' ' 
Grade  3 — ^'Jesus'  Way  of  Love  and  Sgrviee. " 

The  stories  are  grouped  together  according  to  their  moral  and 
religious  teachings  and  follow  in  a  measure  the  order  of  the  Chris- 
tian year.  For  example,  the  stories  during  the  months  of 
Thanksgiving,  Christmas  and  Easter  festivals  are  appropriate  to 
the  season.  The  aim  of  all  the  stories  is  to  teach  the  child  how 
to  be  a  Christian  in  his  own  little  world. 

Grade  4 — ^' Early  Heroes  and  Heroines"  (of  the  Bible). 
Grade  5 — ''Kings  and  Prophets"  (of  the  Bible). 
Grade  6—' '  The  Life  and  Words  of  Jesus. ' ' 
Grade  7 — ''Christian  Apostles  and  Missionaries." 

The  aim  is  to  give  the  pupil  a  consecutive  view  of  the  history 

of  his  religion,  and  so  to  engage  his  activity  as  to  secure  first-hand 

study  and  use  of  the  Bible. 

•  Send  for  outlines  to  The  Abingdon  Press,  150  Fifth  Avenue,  New  York, 
t  Published  by  Charles  Scribner's  Sons,  597  Fifth  Avenue,  New  York. 


138  THE  WEEK-DAY  CHURCH-SCHOOL 

Grade  7 — (alternative)  ** Heroes  of  the  Faith." 

The  heroic  and  biographic  interests  centered  about  the 

great  leaders. 
Grade  8 — ** Christian  Life  and  Conduct.'* 

Planned  to  assist  pupils  to  make  the  transition  from  the  simpler 
conduct  of  childhood  to  that  of  young  men  and  women  as 
Christians. 

The  Constructive  Series  * 

Grades  1-3 — ' '  Child  Religion  in  Song  and  Story. ' ' 

Three    texts,    with    services,    songs,    prayers,    respoiLses, 

stories  and  handwork. 
Grade  4 — * '  An  Introduction  to  the  Bible. ' ' 

Reading  stories  from  Bible,  planned  to  secure  first-band 

knowledge. 
Grade  5— "The  Life  of  Jesus,'' 

Story  of  Jesus,  from  the  hero  point  of  view. 
Grade  6—'* Heroes  of  Israel"  or  *'01d  Testament  Story." 

Selected    stories    and    characters    from    Old    Testament 

(alternate  books). 
Grade  7—* 'Paul  of  Tarsus." 

Story  of  his  life,  with  object  to  inspire  loyalty  to  a  cauee. 
Grade  8— ''The  Gospel  According  to  Mark"  or  "The  I^st  Book  of 

Samuel. ' ' 

Both  examples  of  careful,  close  studies  of  a  sdngle  book. 

The  International  Graded  f 

Grade  1 — "Bible  Stories  for  Sunday  School  and  Home." 

To   develop  love,   trust  and  obedience  to  God's  power 

and  care. 
Grade  2 — '  *  Bible  Stories  for  Sunday  School  and  Home. ' ' 

Follows  first  year  with  lessons  to  lead  to  child's  expres- 
sion of  love,  etc. 
Grade  3 — "Bible  Stories  for  Sunday  School  and  Home." 

Develops  above  plan  for  older  children. 
Grade  4 — "Stories  from  Olden  Time." 

Developing  biblical  interest  by  stories. 
Grade  5— "Hero  Stories." 

Heroic  persons,  leading  to  Jesus  and  the  apostles. 
Grade  6— "Kingdom  Stories." 

Designed  to  indicate  moral  choices  in  conduct  and  society. 
Grade  7 — "Go^el  Stories." 

To  present  Jesus  as  example  and  savior  and  show  way 

of  Christian  life. 
Grade  8 — "Leaders  of  Israel." 

Ideals  of  heroic  living. 
*  Published  by  The  University  of  Chicago  Press, 
t  Lesson  material  published  by  the  different  denominational  secieties. 


THE  CUREICULUM  139 

The  Beacon  Course* 
Grade  1 — ''God's  Loving  Care,  or  at  Home  in  the  World." 

Original  story  material,  from  modern  life  and  from  the 

Bible. 
Grade  2 — ''Living  Together." 

Includes  hand-work.    Aim:  the  simple  habita  of  a  right 

social  life. 
Grade  3— -"Children  of  the  Father." 

Stories  of  men  and  women,  in  the  light  of  their  relations 

with  God  and  their  fellows. 
Grade  4— "God's  Wonder  World." 

Nature,  our  world  and  its  spiritual  beauty  and  meaning. 
Grade  5— "The  Clean,  Strong  Life." 
Grade  6 — "Heroic  Lives." 

Biblical  and  from  other  sourcea. 
Grade  7 — "An  Heroic  Nation." 

The  Old  Testament  story. 
Grade  8 — "The  Story  of  Jesus." 

THE  CHRISTIAN  NURTURE  SERIES  t 

Grade  1— "Our  Father's  Gifts." 

Nature  stories  and  the  child 's  Biblical  stories. 
Grade  2— "Trust  in  God." 

The  child's  relationship  to  the  life  of  trust. 
Grade  3— "Obedience  to  God." 

Connected  to  the  Christian  Year,  on  duties. 
Grade  4— "God  with  Man." 

Teaching  the  fundamental  truths  of  the  church. 
Grade  5— "God's  Great  Family." 

The  child  life  of  all  the  world;  missionary. 
Grade  6 — "The  Christian  Seasons." 

Following  the  course  of  the  Christian  Year. 
Grade  7 — "Church  Worship  and  Membership." 
Grade  8— "The  Life  of  Our  Lord." 

Schools  that  are  ready  to  forsake  the  curriculum  based  on 
biblical  material  and  frankly  to  follow  courses  based  on  imme- 
diate life  interests  would  do  well  to  examine  the  series  of  text- 
books known  as  The  King's  Highway  Series,  published  by  Mac- 
millan,  and  edited  by  Professors  Sneath,  Hodges  and  Tweedy. 
There  are  eight  texts,  one  for  each  grade,  with  a  rich  variety  of 
material  in  history,  story  and  poetry  on  the  natural  interests  and 
experiences  of  child  life,  all  with  a  strong  and  definite  religious 
purpose. 

*  Published  by  The  Beacon  Press,  16  Beacon  Street,  Boston,  Mass. 

t  The  Episcopal  series,  published  by  Morehouse  Publishing  Co.,  Mil- 
waukee, Wisconsin  (used  as  the  text-books  in  the  various  demonstration 
week-day  schools  of  The  Protestant  Episcopal  Church). 


CHAPTER  XVI 
VACATION  SCHOOLS 

I.     THE  RELIGIOUS  DAT  SCHOOLS 

jSistoric  Review. — These  schools  were  designed  and  have  been 
promoted  and  conducted  to  afford  a  daily,  articulated  plan  for 
religious  training  for  children  during  specific  periods,  particularly 
in  the  summer  vacation.  They  owe  their  inception  and  develop- 
ment to  the  courageous,  patient  and  sacrificial  labors  of  the  Rev. 
Howard  R.  Vaughn,*  who  relates  the  story  of  the  early  develop- 
ment of  the  organization  as  follows : 

The  organization  for  our  week-day  religious  instruction  was  formed 
in  1898,  though,  owing  to  difficulties  in  securing  teachers  who  were 
able  and  willing  to  try  the  work  the  first  school  was  not  held  until 
the  summer  of  1900. 

The  object  of  the  movement  in  its  very  inception  was  to  provide 
a  week-day  school  of  religion  with  a  teaching  force  equal  to  the  very 
best  in  any  system  of  education;  with  equipment  of  rooms  and  other 
school  appliances,  a  school  which  should  teach  the  Bible,  home  and 
foreign  missions,  church  history,  and  church  music. 

For  the  first  few  years  each  school  was  continued  six  hours  a  day 
for  a  period  of  two  weeks.  The  first  regular  sessions  of  a  school  was 
held  in  a  Congregational  Church  on  Truax  Prairie,  about  five  miles 
from  Eau  Claire,  Wisconsin. 

The  first  session  had  all  the  real  •elements  of  a  real  school  with 
regular  attendance,  promptness,  strict  discipline  and  the  close  appli- 
cation of  the  pupils.  The  succeeding  sessions  were  held  in  Elk  Mound 
and  a  few  other  communities  each  year,  steadily  growing  in  numbers 
and  efficiency. 

To  meet  the  growing  needs  the  work  has  since  been  reorganized 
three  times.  In  1903  ''The  Bible  Teachers  Institute  of  Northwest 
Wisconsin ' '  was  organized  in  connection  with  the  religious  day  school, 
with  Prof.  W.  J.   Mutch,  then  of  New  Haven,  Conn.,  as  principal 

[Note. — The  plan  of  daily  summer  schools  for  children,  originated  and 
promoted  by  the  Rev.  Howard  R.  Vaughn.] 

*  The  Rev.  Howard  R.  Vaughn,  Urbana,  Illinois. 

140 


VACATION  SCHOOLS  141 

lecturer  and  teacher  in  the  institute.  Although  Prof.  Muteh  was 
connected  officially  only  with  the  adult  department  his  counsel  was 
freely  sought  by  the  teachers  of  the  religious  day  school,  and  for  the 
next  eleven  years  he  was  a  valued  counselor. 

In  1904  Prof.  Thomas  H.  Gentle,  supervisor  of  practice  in  Platte- 
ville  (Wis.)  State  Normal  School,  became  practice  teacher  in  the 
Bible  Teachers'  Institute  and  principal  of  the  religious  day  school 
Prof.  Gentle  remained  four  years  in  the  work,  and  his  coming  was 
probably  the  greatest  single  event  in  the  whole  history  of  the  move- 
ment. He  inspired  the  teachers  and  management,  gave  them  a  much 
larger  vision,  and  induced  them  to  introduce  the  oral  study  method 
of  teaching  all  pupils  in  the  grades. 

Although  the  fullest  freedom  has  always  been  given  to  our  fully 
trained  and  experienced  teachers,  yet  the  principles  and  methods 
introduced  by  Prof.  Gentle  have  remained  the  groundwork  of  our 
system  of  instruction;  we  are  indebted  also  to  Prof.  Gentle  for 
another  distinctive  factor  in  our  movement — the  plan  of  practice 
teaching  which  he  inaugurated.  In  this  practice  teaching  all  the  dif- 
ferent grades  and  various  types  of  children  were  organized  into 
classes  and  to  their  teachers  were  assigned  different  Bible  lessons; 
one  of  these  classes  was  daily  taught  before  the  rest  of  the  teachers 
and  this  teaching  exercise  was  followed  by  the  most  searching  criti- 
cism. Every  teaching  point  was  gone  over,  its  weakness  and  strength 
shown  up,  whether  that  particular  type  of  lesson  was  best  adapted  to 
a  class  of  the  grade  taught  and  whether  the  lesson  was  too  long  or 
too  short.  Very  often  several  hours  were  spent  in  these  critical 
exercises.  This  work  was  followed  up  for  about  ten  years  and  from 
it  we  have  evolved  our  methods  and  our  curriculum. 

Another  event  of  great  importance  vas  the  preparation  of  a  graded 
series  of  lessons  by  Prof.  W.  J.  Mutch.  These  were  first  used  in  1910, 
and  were  based  on  the  oral  method  introduced  by  Prof.  Gentle.  The 
lessons,  first  used  for  several  years  in  typewritten  form,  were  pub- 
lished in  book  form.  The  unification  of  all  the  departments  of  the 
school  and  the  building  up  of  a  morale  which  always  distinguished 
the  movement,  was  a  work  made  complete  by  Miss  Murlev,  assistant 
in  Dunn  County  (Wis.)  Normal  School,  and  Prof.  W.  H.  Schulz,  City 
Superintendent  of  Schools  of  Eau  Claire,  Wis.  The  work  of  the  high 
school  department  was  organized  and  given  its  present  important 
place  by  Prof.  Herbert  E.  Steiner  of  Stevens  Point  Normal  School 
of  Wisconsin.  He  brought  to  the  work  a  splendid  devotion  and 
enthusiasm  and  during  the  six  years  he  built  up  a  strong  and  lasting 
department. 

Our  work  was  fortunate  in  drawing  to  it  many  educational  leaders 
and  teachers  from  Wisconsin  and  other  States,  who  gave  to  it  their 
splendid  enthusiasm  as  well  as  their  technical  skill. 

During  the  first  six  years  of  the  organized  life  of  the  movement 
(1898-1903  inclusive)   our  difficulty  was  to  secure  well-equipped  and 


142         THE  WEEK-DAY  CHURCH-SCHOOL 

experienced  public-school  teachers.  The  plan  of  organized  and  every- 
day plain  instruction  in  religion  seemed  to  the  teachers  an  impos- 
sibility. During  the  first  few  years,  also,  it  was  difficult  to 
get  the  children.  I  went  personally  to  the  homes,  often  having  to 
make  half  a  dozen  calls  at  a  home.  It  is  safe  to  say  that  during 
the  first  eight  years  of  the  work  I  made  thousands  of  personal  calls, 
and  did  the  hand-to-hand  personal  work  of  persuading  and  building 
up  a  body  of  interest  and  conviction  which  was  essential  to  a  move- 
ment of  this  sort.  The  schools  have  been  held  in  all  sorts  of  com- 
munities, from  the  farming  districts  to  the  largest  cities,  and  they 
are  fully  as  well  adapted  to  the  one  as  the  other.  Last  summer  we 
held  a  school  of  six  pupils  where  there  was  not  a  house  in  sight  of 
the  school  building,  in  which  our  school  was  held.  In  that  school 
we  included  the  total  enrolment  of  the  public  school  for  that  district; 
on  the  other  hand,  we  have  had  schools  of  more  than  500  pupils  with 
more  than  20  teachers,  in  our  school.  , 


Special  Function. — The  Religious  Day  School,  like  the  Vacation 
Bible  School,  affords  a  community  an  opportunity  to  demonstrate 
week-day  religious  instruction  and  training  on  an  extensive  scale 
through  the  summer  vacation  period.*  In  its  application  it  had 
developed  in  smaller  communities,  as  in  villages,  while  the  Daily 
Vacation  Bible  School  has  developed  in  the  congested  districts  of 
cities.  Such  schools  give  children  a  regular  daily  program, 
through  the  morning  hours,  consisting  of  worship,  memory  work, 
biblical  instruction,  stories  and  dramatics.f  They  differ  from  the 
week-day  church  school  or  community  school  of  religion  in  that 
they  are  short-term  schools,  not  parallel  to  the  public-school  pro- 
grams; that  they  are  able  to  maintain  continuous  contacts, 
through  a  longer  daily  program  with  children,  and  that  they 
have  a  much  more  carefully  and  fully  developed  curriculum  than 
is  at  present  the  case  with  week-day  schools  in  general. 

Organization. — Enlisting  the  cooperation  of  a  group  of 
churches,  or  a  body  of  especially  interested  citizens,  a  local  com- 
mittee is  formed.  This  committee  engages  a  Director,  advising 
with  the  general  organization  through  the  President.  The  Direc- 
tor is  employed  on  full  time;  he  or  she  passes  upon  the  fitness  of 
all  the  teachers  who  are  engaged.  So  far  as  possible  local  teachers 

*  Since  there  is  an  excellent  book,  dealing  fully  and  in  a  very  useful 
method  with  the  details  of  organization  and  program  of  the  "Religious 
Day  Schools,"  only  a  short  statement  is  offered  here;  those  who  seek 
further  details  should  consult  "The  Vacation  Religious  Day  School,"  by 
Hazel  S.  Stafford,  Abingdon  Press   (1920). 

t  For  another  example  of  a  daily  vacation  program  see  the  chapter 
describing  the  work  in  The  First  Lutheran  Church,  Dayton,  Ohio. 


VACATION  SCHOOLS  143 

are  employed,   but  only  when  they  are  qualified  in  education, 
special  training  and  religious  character. 

The  school  usually  lasts  through  two  weeks,  meeting  six  days 
a  week,  from  9  to  12,  includes  all  the  grades,  kindergarten  to 
high  school.  Teachers  are  assigned  to  one  or  two  grades,  de- 
pendent on  the  enrolment,  all  children  in  each  grade  being  taught 
the  same  lessons.  In  the  high-school  department  all  grades  are 
included  in  one  department,  and  are  taught  as  one  grade.  In 
schools  of  less  than  60,  more  than  two  grades  are  given  to  each 
teacher,  in  which  case  the  teacher  subdivides  the  groups  for  class 
work. 

The  expense  varies  greatly  according  to  local  conditions, — • 
readiness  of  cooperation,  etc.  In  some  communities  more  local 
teachers  can  be  secured  than  in  others.  The  first  year  teachers, 
especially  local  teachers,  usually  work  for  from  $5.00  to  $7.00  a 
week — the  outside  teachers  always  having  all  expenses  paid  in 
addition  to  salar5\  The  cost  of  printing  and  the  cooperation  of 
the  general  organization  for  lessons,  and  other  needed  service 
depend  entirely  on  local  conditions.  But  the  total  cost  of  a 
school  even  for  the  first  year  will  not  be  greater  than  the  same 
number  of  pupils  for  the  same  number  of  days  in  a  good  average 
graded  village  school. 

A  school  of  60  pupils  or  less  would  need  at  most  three  teachers 
and  one  local  assistant;  a  school  of  90-175,  six  or  at  most  seven 
teachers,  and  one  or  possibly  two  local  assistants. 

The  best  way  to  finance  the  school  is  to  put  it  in  the  church 
budget.  This,  however,  cannot  be  done  usually  at  first.  A  tuition 
fee  of  $1.00-$2.00  is  requested  of  each  family  sending  children; 
also  a  general  membership  of  $1.00  each  is  sometimes  provided. 
This  money  goes  to  the  local  work,  but  makes  the  contributor  a 
voting  member  of  the  general  organization  and  puts  him  on  the 
mailing  list.  Sometimes  each  church  participating  in  the  school 
gives  a  Sunday  offering;  often  all  those  churches  unite  in  a  union 
meeting  and  secure  a  special  offering,  but  usually  it  is  necessary 
to  secure  personal  subscriptions  to  meet  expenses. 

Program  and  Curriculum* — At  9 :00  a.  m.  the  school,  with  the 
exception  of  the  kindergarten  department,  assembles  a  few  min- 
utes for  devotions,  after  which  each  department  passes  out  in 
order  to  their  various  rooms. 

♦  Given  in  detail  in  "The  Vacation  Religioua  Day  School,"  Stafford. 


144  THE  WEEK-DAY  CHURCH-SCHOOL 

I.  First  Period — Grades  1-8  inclusive — Bible  Lesson  No.  1  from 
Prof.  Wm.  J.  Mutch's  ''Graded  Bible  Lessons"  (These  lessons  have 
been  recently  published  at  $1.50  and  can  be  secured  by  writing  Dr. 
Mutch  at  Ripon  College,  Eipon,  Wisconsin)  Two  years. 

High  School:  Bible  lesson  outlined  by  Prof.  H.  R.  Steiner,  Cash- 
ton,  Wisconsin. 

II.  Second  Period — Mission  Lessons.  Grades  1  and  2 — ^Lessons 
based  on  text  books.  ''Children  of  Mission  Lands'^ — Two  years' 
course. 

Grades  3  and  4  Text  Book — "Heroes  of  Modem  Mission" — Two 
years  ^  course. 

Grades  5  and  6 — Lessons  based  on  John  G.  Baton's  Autobiography: 
outlined  by  Miss  Mabel  Olson,  Eau  Claire,  Wis.  One  year  course, 
alternating  the  second  year  with  lessons  based  on  Blaikie's  life  of 
Livingstone.    Lessons  outlined  by  Miss  Franc  Wilkins,  Eau  Claire,  Wis. 

Grades  7  and  8.  Home  Missions ;  Mountain  Whites :  Lessons  based 
on  General  Literature  furnished  by  American  Missionary  Association 
— and  other  sources — One  year  course.  Outlined  by  Mrs.  Bird 
Hitchcock  Frazier,  Traverse  City,  Mich.  Second  year:  The  Negro: 
Lessons  based  on  ' '  Up  from  Slavery. ' ' 

High  school:  First  year:  An  intensive  study  of  one  Mission  field 
followed  by  two  years  comprehensive  study  of  the  history  of  modern 
missions.    Lessons  outlined  by  Prof.  Steiner. 

III.  Third  Period:  At  10:45,  immediately  following  recess  the 
school  assembles  for  daily  worship  and  the  assembly  period.  The 
assembly  period  is  used  for  instruction  in  singing  some  of  the  selected 
standard  hymns,  also  for  drill  in  repeating  in  concert  both  hymns 
and  scripture. 

IV.  Fourth  Period — Grades  one  and  two:  Bible  Lesson  number 
two,  selected  from  Miss  Palmer's  "A  year  of  Sunday  School  Lessons 
for  Very  Young  Children,"  two  years'  course. 

Grades  3  and  4 — Bible  Lesson  number  two,  selected  from  Misa 
Chamberlin's  "Child  Religion  in  Song  and  Story" — two  years'  course. 

Grades  5  and  6 — A  two  years'  course  of  instruction  in  "How  to 
Use  the  English  Bible, ' '  prepared  by  Miss  Mabel  Olson. 

Grades  7  and  8:  Church  history:  Lessons  based  on  "Beacon 
Lights  of  Church  History"  and  other  sources.  Outlined  by  Mrs. 
Frazier. 

High  School :    Text  Book :    ' '  History  of  the  Bible, ' '  by  Prof.  Mutch. 

V.  Fifth  Period — All  departments  use  the  fifth  period  for  mem- 
orizing selected  passages  of  scripture  and  standard  hymns. 

The  note  books  are  freely  used  in  all  departments:  Also  pictures 
are  used  for  pasting  in  all  excepting  the  high-school  department.  The 
lesson  periods  in  the  lower  grades  are  subdivided  according  to  the 
needs  of  the  children,  also  physical  exercises  are  interspersed.  Most 
of  the  instruction  below  the  high  school  is  the  oral,  story  method. 
Each  pupil  must  be  held  strictly  responsible  for  the  lesson.  The 
schools  seldom  show  an  average  of  less  than  75  per  cent  standing. 


VACATION  SCHOOLS  145 

II.     DAILY  VACATION  BIBLE  SCHOOLS 

These  schools,  conducted  during  the  summer  vacation  period, 
are  another  type  of  continuous,  intensive  religious  training.  They 
are  promoted  through  the  various  denominational  boards;  the 
Presbyterian  church  had  205  such  schools  during  the  year  1919; 
upwards  of  a  thousand  were  held  in  the  United  States.  Schools 
are  conducted  daily,  usually  for  from  four  to  six  weeks,  with 
sessions  of  about  two  and  a  half  hours.  The  following  "standard 
for  a  Presbyterian  Vacation  Bible  School"  will  indicate  the  scope 
of  these  schools  in  all  church  communions. 

*'l.  A  school  definitely  under  the  auspices  of  the  Church  or  Presby- 
terial  Committee.  (Note:  A  school  conducted  jointly  with  other 
denominations  or  under  the  auspices  of  interdenominational 
associations,  but  with  a  Presbyterian  Church  or  committee 
having  joint  control  of  program,  conduct  and  leaders  and  meet- 
ing the  requirements  of  our  Presbyterian  standards,  shall  be 
considered  a  standard  school.) 

''2.  Conducted  for  a  minimum  of  twenty-four  days  in  five  weeks  and 
at  least  twenty  standard  program  teaching  days,  two  and  one- 
half  hours  each,  exclusive  of  enrolment,  commencement  and 
outing  days. 

"3.  A  standard  program  day  shall  consist  of  not  less  than  two  and 
one-half  hours,  including  devotional  period,  music  instruction 
period,  Bible  memory  period,  Bible  story  or  lesson  manual  work. 

''4.  A  standard  school  shall  give  a  definite  course  of  Bible  lessons. 
(We  recommend  the  courses  outlined  by  the  Curriculum  Commit- 
tee of  the  National  Conference  and  published  through  the 
Presbyterian  Board  of  Publication  and  Sabbath-School  Work. 
If  other  courses  are  chosen  they  must  be  approved  by  the  Cur- 
riculum Committee  of  the  Presbyterian  National  Conference  of 
the  D.  V.  B.  S.) 

' '  5.  The  standard  school  shall  use  a  standard  form  of  enrolment  card 
to  include  name,  address,  age,  father's  nationality  (race,  by 
langaage,  of  mother),  parents'  church,  day  school  (public  or 
parochial)  and  Sunday  school  attended. 

*'6.  The  standard  school  shall  forward  a  standard  fibial  report  blank 
compileii  from  enrolment  card  data. ' ' 


146  THE  WEEK-DAY  CHURCH-SCHOOL 

A  Sugffested  Program 

9:00  to     9:15 — Devotional  Period. 

9:15  to     9:30— Memory  Work. 

9:30  to     9:45— Music  Period. 

9:45  to  10:15— Bible  Study. 
10:15  to  11:15— Craft  of  Expressional  Work. 
11:15  to  11:40 — Assembly.   Habit  Talk  or  Missionary  Story. 
11 :45 — Dismissal. 

Many  of  these  schools  are  conducted  as  joint  enterprises  by 
groups  of  churches.  The  programs  vary  according  to  the  needs 
of  communities.  A  series  of  schools  conducted  by  the  Hyde  Park 
(Chicago)  Council  of  Churches  arranged  their  programs  so  that 
the  grades  were  divided  into  three  groups,  the  first  group  meeting 
in  one  church,  the  second  in  another,  and  the  third  in  a  third 
church,  then  all  the  grades  gathered  together  at  certain  periods 
for  play  and  dramatics. 

Sources  of  Information. — Since  this  book  seeks  to  specialize 
on  the  schools  of  religion  held  parallel  to  the  public-school  pro- 
gram, and  there  already  exists  a  fair  amount  of  material  on  vaca- 
tion schools,  the  reader  is  referred,  for  further  particulars  of 
vacation  schools,  to  the  special  secretary  in  charge  of  this  work 
in  each  denomination  board,  and  to:  "Religious  Education  and 
Democracy,"  Winchester  (Abingdon),  pp.  121,  139,  223. 

'' Manual  with  Hymns,  etc.,"  for  Daily  V.  B.  S.   (International 
Association  of  D.  V.  B.  S.,  90  (Bible  House,  New  York). 

''Manual  of  Graded  Bible  Course'* Bible  House,  N.  Y. 

' 'Manual  of  Hand  Work' ' Bible  House,  N.  Y. 

"Manual  for  the  Kindergarten,"  and  other 

texts Presbyterian  Board 

"A  Handbook  for  the  D.  V.  B.  S." Presbyterian  Board 

"The  Daily  Vacation  Bible  School,"  Chappell Eevell 


CHAPTER  XYII 
SPECIAL  WORK  WITH  HIGH-SCHOOL  STUDENTS 

Week-day  religious  instruction  has  been  centered  about  the 
interests  and  needs  of  elementally  children  in  by  far  the  greater 
number  of  communities.  But  the  need  is  not  less  when  we  come 
to  the  high-school  years,  and  there  are,  in  the  experiments  de- 
scribed, a  few  instances  of  specific  provision  for  high-school 
courses.  At  the  same  time  there  has  been  developing  a  system, 
described  below,  which  has  enrolled  large  numbers  of  high-school 
students,  which  offers  fairly  satisfactory  relations  to  public 
schools  and  which  is  capable  of  very  easy  adaptations  to  a  system 
of  week-day  religious  instruction. 

This  plan,  originally  designed  to.  be  followed  in  the  Sunday 
schools,  has  in  it  nothing  which  makes  it  difficult  to  follow  in 
week-day  schools;  in  fact,  it  would  seem  that  there  would  be 
very  large  advantages  in  adopting  the  system  of  accredited  Bible 
studies  as  the  basis  of  work,  in  week-day  schools,  for  pupils  of 
the  high-school  grade.  This  is  done  extensively  in  Toledo,  Ohio. 
See  Chapter  IX. 

THE   ACCREDITED   HIGH-SCHOOL  BIBLE    STUDY   PLAN" 

This  is  a  plan  under  extensive  use.  particularly  in  Colorado, 
North  Dakota,  Indiana  and  certain  other  states,  which  provides 
that  any  high-sehool  student  may  earn  from  one  to  two  of  the 
fourteen  units  usually  required  for  high-school  graduation  by  the 
study  of  the  Bible  outside  the  school.  This  study  must  be,  as  a 
rule,  in  a  course  which  has  been  approved  by  the  state  educa- 
tional authorities,  and  under  conditions  of  study  which  ensure 
that  the  work  shall  be  of  a  grade  equal  to  that  which  he  would 
do  in  the  regular  high  school.  These  conditions  may  be  briefly 
stated  :* 

(a)  The  Colorado  Plan.  The  Colorado  plan  is  the  outgrowth 
of  the  system  conceived  by  the  Rev.  D.  D.  Forward,  at  Greeley, 
Colo.,  and  first  used  in  connection  with  the  State  Teachers'  Col- 
lege.   In  November,  1913,  the  committee  for  the  State  Teachers* 

*  For  full  particulars  see  "School  and  College  Credit  for  Outside  Bible 
Study,"  by  C.  A.  Woods  (World  Book  Co.). 

147 


148         THE  WEEK-DAY  CHURCH-SCHOOL 

Association  recommended  that  higli  schools  should  give  credit 
for  Bible  study  of  corresponding  gi^ade,  in  Sunday  schools  which 
reach,  in  their  classes,  the  standards  of  the  North  Central  Asso- 
ciation of  Teachers  in  Secondary  Schools;  this  credit  was  not  to 
exceed  one-fourth  unit  for  each  year's  work.  Under  these  con- 
ditions a  four  years'  elective  course  of  Bible  study  was  prepared 
for  use  in  Sunday  schools  and  for  high-school  students.  This 
system  requires  that  the  teachers  of  such  classes  must  have  at 
least  an  equivalent  to  the  A.  B.  degree,  and  shall  have  special 
training  in  the  subjects  which  they  teach,  that  pupils  shall  be 
eligible  to  membership  in  an  accredited  high  school,  that  churches 
shall  provide  such  classes  with  separate  rooms,  freedom  from 
interrux')tion  for  at  least  forty-five  minutes,  desks  for  each  pupil, 
blackboard,  maps,  and  reference  work.  Credit  is  based  upon 
forty  recitations  of  forty-five  minutes  each  for  each  year  with  a 
minimum  of  one  hour  of  study  to  each  lesson. 

(b)  The  North  Dakota  Plan.  This  plan  was  suggested  by 
Prof.  Vernon  P.  Squires,  of  the  University  of  North  Dakota. 
The  State  High  School  Board  authorizes  a  syllabus  of  Bible 
study.  The  students'  work  may  be  carried  on  privately  or  in 
special  classes  outside  the  high  school  in  connection  with  Sunday 
schools.  The  classes  may  be  taught  by  any  pastor,  priest,  or 
other  person.  An  examination  is  given  at  the  time  of  the  regu- 
lar State  examination,  papers  are  marked  by  readers  appointed 
by  the  State  school  board,  and,  to  those  who  pass,  credit  is  given 
to  the  extent  of  one-half  imit  out  of  the  sixteen  required  for 
high-school  graduation. 

The  approved  syllabus  contains  no  religious  instruction  as  such. 
Professor  Squires  says:  "Important  as  religious  instruction  is, 
we  must  not  violate  our  fundamental  American  idea  of  the  sep- 
aration of  Church  and  State.  The  justification  of  Bible  study, 
so  far  as  the  schools  are  concerned,  is  found  in  the  great  value 
of  a  knowledge  of  scriptural  history  and  literature  as  broadly 
cultural  subjects.  This  idea  must  be  constantly  and  consistently 
borne  in  mind  and  strenuously  insisted  on." 

THE  LAKEWOOD,  OHIO,  PIiAlT 

For  the  past  seven  years  courses  in  the  Bible  have  been  a 
regular  part  of  the  curriculum  of  the  high  school  at  Lakewood, 
a  suburb  of  Cleveland.  The  course  is  elective,  open  to  Juniors 
and  Seniors;  five  recitations  weekly  are  required,  as  in  any  other 
subject;  the  teacher  must  be  a  college  graduate  and  a  member 


WORK  WITH  HIGH-SCHOOL  STUDENTS     149 

of  the  high-school  faculty;  the  subject  is  taught  as  history  and 
literature,  with  especial  care  to  avoid  the  sectarian  and  dog- 
matic. Time  has  tested  this  work  and,  probably  owing  to  the 
wisdom  of  the  principal  and  the  teacher  of  the  Bible,  this  course 
has  continued  without  offense  or  objection. 

THE  ACCREDITED  HIGH-SCHOOL   STUDIES 

Under  this  plan  a  number  of  courses  of  study,  including  specific 
text-books,  have  been  approved,  some  of  them  passed  upon  by 
school  systems  which  have  formally  considered  the  plan,  and 
others  approved  by  a  special  commission  appointed  to  study  the 
curriculum. 

The  course  of  study  will  be  determined  by  two  considerations: 
the  character  of  work  which  will  be  recognized  as  of  academic 
grade  and  the  requirements  fixed  by  the  colleges  as  to  subjects 
for  entrance.  At  this  time  a  singular  and  serious  difficulty 
exists  in  the  fact  that  certain  colleges  will  not  accept  any  high- 
school  work  in  Bible  for  entrance.  Efforts  are  being  made  to 
secure  recognition  of  Bible-study  as  at  least  on  a  level  of  value, 
for  college  entrance,  with  physiology  for  example.  The  college 
teachers  of  the  Bible  recommended  the  following  requirements 
in  high-school  courses: 

THE   ENGKtSH   BIBLE 

The  requirements  in  the  Englieh  Bible  are  based  on  the  recom- 
mendations of  a  Committee  of  Fifteen  Biblical  instnictors  in  the 
American  Colleges  and  Secondary  Schools. 

(a)  The  epie  narratives  of  the  Old  Testament:  a  knowledge  of  the 
chief  characters  and  incidents  presented  in  Genesis,  Exodus,  Numbers, 
Joshua,  Judges,  Euth,  1st  and  2nd  Samuel,  1st  and  2nd  Kings  and 
Daniel. 

(b)  The  memorizing  of  some  of  the  more  notable  passages  of 
biblical  prose  and  poetry. 

(c)  Hebrew  history:  from  the  Egyptian  period  to  the  destruction 
of  the  Jewish  commonwealth  in  70  A.D. ;  development  of  the  life  and 
institutions  of  the  Hebrew  people  with  some  consideration  for  their 
contributions  to  human  culture. 

(d)  Early  Christian  biography:  the  life  of  Jesus  and  his  early 
followers;  the  parables  of  Jesus;  the  life  of  Paul. 

(e)  Introduction  to  the  English  Bible;  how  the  Bible  and  its 
separate  books  came  to  be,  and  how  they  have  come  down  to  present 
time. 

The  Association  recommended  that  the  English  Bible  be  rated  as 
one  point  for  college  entrance. 


150  THE  WEEK-DAY  CHURCH-SCHOOL 

A   PARTIAL  REPORT   OF  THE   COMMISSION"   ON"   THE  DEFINITION  OP  A 
UNIT  OF  BIBLE  STUDY   FOR  SECONDARY  SCHOOLS* 

The  Work  of  the  Commission 

1.  To  define  in  detail  Biblical  courses  that  will  promote  the  re- 
ligious as  well  as  the  intellectual  development  of  the  adolescent 
boys  and  girls  and  that  may  be  offered  for  credit  in  secondary 
schools  and  as  a  college  entrance  unit. 

2.  To  encourage  the  preparation  of  text  books  which  shall  con- 
form to  the  required  standards,  and  to  indicate  the  important 
books  of  reference  and  equipment  already  available. 

3.  To  establish  standards  of  Biblical  instruction  and  equip- 
ment which  will  insure  efficient  work  in  secondary,  Church  and 
Bible  schools  offering  such  work,  and  to  perfect  an  organization 
that  will  insure  the  maintenance  of  these  standards. 

4.  To  correlate,  in  the  light  of  experiments  tried,  the  various 
methods  suggested  for  extramural  Bible  study  with  a  view  to 
unity  of  purpose  and  similarity  of  practice  so  far  as  that  is  prac- 
ticable. 

The  present  report  concerns  itself  chiefly  with  the  first  three 
of  the  above  aims  and  is  intended  to  present  a  concrete  plan  as 
a  basis  for  detailed  discussion  and  suggestions. 

RECOMMENDATIONS 

The  commission  recommends: 

1.  That  in  order  to  give  a  certain  freedom  of  choice  to  stu- 

*  Members  of  the  Commission  :  Robert  L.  Kelly,  Chairman,  Council  of 
Church  Boards  of  Education.  Charles  Foster  Kent.  Yale  University. 
Laura  H.  Wild,  Mount  Holyoke  College.  Lavinia  Tallman.  Teachers 
College.  H.  Buchler,  Hotchkiss  School.  Ira  M,  Price,  University  of 
Chicago.  Herbert  L.  Willett,  University  of  Chicago.  Vernon  P.  Squires, 
University  of  North  Dakota.     John  E.  Foster,  Iowa  Board  of  Education. 

Su'b-OommUtce  on  Courses  of  Studif:  Charles  Foster  Kent,  H.  G. 
Buehler,  Ira  M.  Price,  Herbert  L.  Willett,  Laura  H.  Wild  and  Lavinia 
Tallman. 

Sub-Committee  on  Educational  Standards  and  Supervision:  Robert  L. 
Kelly,  Vernon  P.  Squires,  John  E.  Foster,  H.  G.  Buehler,  Laura  H.  Wild 
and  Lavinia  Tallman. 

This  commission  was  appointed  to  represent  and  carry  on  work  already 
initiated  by  the  Association  of  New  England  Preparatory  Schools,  the 
Association  of  Biblical  Instructors  in  American  Colleges  and  Secondary 
Schools  with  the  Middle  Western  Branch  of  that  Association,  the  Religioua 
Education  Association,  The  Council  of  Church  Boards  of  Education,  The 
International  Sunday  School  Association,  the  Commission  on  Christian 
Education  of  the  Federal  Council  of  the  Churches  of  Christ  in  America, 
which  includes  in  its  membership  numerous  Sunday  school  and  other 
Associations  interested  in  Bible  study,  and  local  commissions  or  boards 
already  established  in  thirty  states. 


WORK  WITH  HIGH-SCHOOL  STUDENTS     151 

dents  of  different  faiths  and  to  satisfy  the  demands  of  the  various 
schools  and  colleges  the  following  three  courses  of  study  be  rec- 
ognized as  the  suitable  component  parts  of  a  college  entrance 
unit,  and  that  any  two  of  these  courses  may  be  offered  as  the 
minimum  requirement.  Each  course  shall  represent  the  equiva- 
lent of  four  hours'  recitations  per  week  for  twenty  (20)  weeks. 

The  members  of  the  Commission  are  convinced  that  two  of 
these  courses  as  outlined  are  fully  equivalent  to  the  standard  col- 
lege entrance  unit,  but  any  college  so  desiring  may  require  all 
three  courses. 

COURSE  I 
NARRATIVES  AND  SONGS   OP  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

As  a  concrete  basis  for  study  and  examination  the  following  literary 
units  are  suggested: 

1.  The  Creation  Stories.    Gen.  1  and  2,  Psalm  5. 

2.  The  Serpent  in  the  Garden,  Gen.  3. 

3.  Cain  and  Abel.    Gen.  4:1-160. 

4.  The  Story  of  the  Flood.     Gen.  6:1-9:17. 

5.  Abraham  the  Pioneer.    Gen.  12:1-17:27. 

6.  The  Doom  of  Sodom.    Gen.  18:1-19:29. 

7.  The  Offering  of  Isaac.     Gen.  22:1-19. 

8.  Finding  a  Wife  for  Isaac.     Gen.  24. 

9.  Jacob's  Deception.     Gen.  25:27-34;  27:1-28:9. 

10.  The  Deceiver  Deceived.    Gen.  29:1-30:43. 

11.  Jacob  at  the  Jabbok.    Gen.  31:1-32:32. 

12.  Joseph  Sold  by  His  Brothers.     Gen.  37:1-36. 

13.  Joseph  the  Interpreter  of  Dreams.    Gen.  40:1-41:57. 

14.  Joseph's  Generosity  to  His  Brothers.     Gen.  42:1-44:34, 

15.  Joseph's  Loyalty  to  His  Family.     Gen.  45-47. 

16.  Moses'  Preparation  for  Leadership.     Exodus  1-2. 

17.  Moses'  Call  to  Deliver  Israel.     Exodus  3. 

18.  The  Deliverance  from  Egypt.     Exodus  11-12. 

19.  The  Covenant  at  Sinai.     Exodus  20. 

20.  The  Report  of  the  Hebrew  Spies.    Num.  13-14:25. 

21.  The  Balaam  Oracles.    Num.  22:1-24:25. 

22.  Crossing  the  Jordan.     Joshua  2,  3. 

23.  The  Capture  of  Jericho.     Joshua  6,  7. 

24.  Deborah's  Battle  Song.     Judg.  4,  5. 

25.  The  Sword  of  Jehovah  and  of  Gideon.     Judg.  6-8. 

26.  Samson  the  Hero  of  a  Barbarous  Age.    Judg.  13-16., 

27.  The  Idyl  of  Ruth.    Ruth. 

28.  Samuel's  Boyhood  Training.     I  Samuel,  1-3. 

29.  Samuel's  Discovery  of  a  Leader.    I  Samuel  9,  10. 

30.  Saul's  Election  as  King.    I  Samuel  11. 

31.  Jonathan's  Achievement  at  Micmash.     I  Samuel  14. 

32.  David  the  Popular  Hero.    I  Samuel  17,  18. 


152  THE  WEEK-DAY  CHURCH-SCHOOL 

33.  Jonathan  the  Loyal  Friend.     I  Samuel  19,  20. 

34.  David  the  Outlaw.     I  Samuel  21-27. 

35.  Saul 's  Death  and  David 's  Lament.    I  Samuel  31,  II  SamueL 

36.  Bringing  the  Ark  to  Jerusalem.    II  Samuel  6;  Psalms  24. 

37.  A  King's  Treachery  and  Nathan's  Parable.   II  Samuel  11;  12. 

38.  The  Disloyal  Son  of  a  Weak  Father.    II  Samuel  13;  1-18:33. 

39.  A  Popular  Declaration  of  Independence.     I  King  12. 

40.  Elijah's  Protest  Against  Baalam.    I  Kings  17;  1-19:18. 

41.  Elijah's  Defense  of  Popular  Rights   (Naboth's  Vineyard). 
I  Kings  21. 

42.  The    Elisha    Stories.     I    King    19:19-21;    II    Kings    2-9; 
13:14-19. 

43.  The  Young  Prophet  Isaiah.    Isaiah  5,  6. 

44.  Jerusalem  Delivered  from  Sennacherib.    Isaiah  37;  Psalm  46. 

45.  The  Faith  of  the  Exiles.    Psalms  42;  43. 

46.  Daniel  and  His  Three  Friends.     Daniel  1. 

47.  The  Feast  of  Belshazzar,    Daniel  5. 

48.  Daniel  in  the  Lion's  Den.     Daniel  6. 

49.  A  Message  of  Comfort  to  the  Discouraged  Exiles.    Isaiah  4. 

50.  A  True  Servant  of  Jehovah.    Isaiah  42:1-6;  52;  13-53;  12. 

51.  Nehemiah  the  Builder.     Neh.  1,  2;  4:33-5:19;  7:1-3;  12:31, 
32,  37-40,  43. 

52.  A  Narrow-minded  Nationalist.     Jonah  1:1-2;  1;  3,  4. 

53.  The  Nature  of  Wisdom.     Proverbs  8. 

54.  The  Source  of  Wisdom.     Job.  28. 

55.  The  Wonders  of  the  Universe.    Job.  38. 

56.  Youth  and  Old  Age.    Eccl.  11:9-12:8. 

57.  The  Righteous  Ruler.     Psalm  72. 

58.  The  Security  of  the  One  Who  Trusts  God.     Psalm  91. 

59.  The  Creator  and  Preserver  of  Man.    Psalm  33. 

60.  God  the  Eternal.    Psalm  90. 

Aims : 

1.  In  general  to  enable  boys  and  girls  to  understand  and 
assimilate  the  thought  and  to  feel  the  beauty  and  the  spirit- 
ual inspiration  of  those  Old  Testament  masterpieces  that  appeal 
most  strongly  to  their  interests  and  needs. 

2.  To  supply  the  geographical  setting  and  the  literary  and 
cultural  atmosphere  required  to  understand  each  narrative  and 
song. 

3.  To  retell  or  dramatize  each  narrative,  to  trace  the  devel- 
opment of  the  thought  in  each  song  and  to  help  the  students  to 
formulate  the  principles  of  life  which  each  narrative  or  song 
sets  forth. 

Method: 

1.  The  Biblical  text  used  may  be  either  the  Authorized  Ver- 
sion, the  American  Kevised,  the  Douay  Version,  the  Holy  Bible 


WORK  WITH  HIGH-SCHOOL  STUDENTS     153 

Translated  from  the  Latin  Vulgate,  the  New  Translation  of  the 
Holy  Scriptures  issued  by  the  Jewish  Publication  Society  of 
America,  or  a  standard  modern  translation,  as  for  example,  that 
of  the  Shorter  Bible. 

2.  In  narratives  where  two  versions  have  been  combined,  it 
is  desirable,  for  the  sake  of  literary  unity,  to  follow  the  older 
version,  and  therefore  books  giving  only  this  simpler  text  are 
preferable  as  a  basis  for  classroom  work. 

3.  In  general  the  same  methods  are  to  be  employed  in  realiz- 
ing the  aims  of  this  course  as  are  followed  with  students  of  the 
same  age  in  the  study  of  English  Literature.  The  main  emphasis 
is  to  be  placed  on  the  mastery  of  the  contents  and  on  intellectual 
and  spiritual  inspiration  rather  than  on  the  minute  analysis  of 
the  literary  form  of  each  narrative  and  song. 

COURSE  II 
HISTORY   OF   THE   HEBREW   COMMONWEALTH 

Contents : 

The  political,  social  and  cultural  development  of  the  Hebrew 
people  from  the  Egyptian  bondage  to  the  destruction  of  the  Jew- 
ish state  by  Rome. 

Aims : 

To  give  in  form  adapted  to  boys  and  girls  a  clear  knowledge — > 

1.  Of  the  physical  and  historical  geography  of  Palestine  and 
of  the  larger  world  in  which  the  Hebrews  lived  and  developed. 

2.  Of  the  leading  races  and  of  the  intellectual  and  social 
forces  with  which  they  came  in  contact. 

3.  Of  the  important  periods,  characters  and  events  in  their 
history. 

4.  Of  the  ways  in  which  their  institutions,  such  as  the  family, 
the  state,  the  Church  and  the  school  developed. 

5.  Of  the  gradual  unfolding  of  those  religious  beliefs  and 
democratic  ideals  that  constitute  the  chief  contributions  of  the 
Hebrews  to  the  faith  and  civilization  of  mankind. 

Method: 

1.  Definite  daily  assignments  in  a  text  book  carefully  adapted 
to  the  interests  and  mental  capacity  of  the  young  student  and 
largely  biographical  in  method,  in  which  unimportant  data  will 
be  omitted,  and  the  leading  characters  and  events  of  the  history 
will  be  made  vivid,  and  each  institution  studied  in  the  light  of  its 
social  setting. 

2.  Special  assignments  to  the  Biblical  sources  and  to  selected 
books  of  reference. 


154  THE  WEEK-DAY  CHURCH-SCHOOL 

3.     Frequent  papers,  classroom  discussions  and  tests. 
'  4.     The  newer  methods  and  standards  of  work  that  are  main- 
tained in  the  corresponding  courses  in  European  and  American 
history. 


CX)URSE  III 
LIFE  AND  WORK  OP  JESUS  AND  PAUL 

Contents : 

The  development  of  Christianity  from  the  Reign  of  Augustus 
to  the  persecution  of  Domitian. 
Aims : 

1.  In  general  to  give  students  such  a  vivid  impression  of  the 
work  and  personality  of  Jesus  and  his  early  followers  that  they 
will  spontaneously  accept  and  apply  his  principles  of  living. 

2.  In  detail  to  give  a  clear  idea  of  the  contents  and  nature 
of  the  records  of  the  life  work  of  Jesus  and  his  early  followers. 

3.  To  study— 

a.  The  geographical  and  historical  setting  of  this  work 
and  the  convictions  and  hopes  in  the  minds  of  the  people  to 
whom  they  spoke. 

b.  Jesus'  early  home  training  and  the  home  of  John  the 
Baptist. 

c.  The  purpose  and  plan  of  Jesus'  public  activity. 

d.  The  conditions  which  confronted  him  in  Galilee  and 
Jerusalem.  His  methods,  his  dauntless  enthusiasm  and  the 
results  of  his  work. 

e.  The  events  which  led  to  his  death  and  the  facts  under- 
lying the  Resurrection  stories. 

f.  Jesus'  chief  teachings  regarding  the  right  relation  be- 
tween God  and  man,  between  man  and  his  neighbor,  each  man's 
duty  to  society,  the  use  of  wealth  and  the  essentials  for  true 
happiness. 

g.  The  life  of  the  early  Christian  communities  at  Jerusa- 
lem and  Antioch. 

h.    Paul's  personality  and  early  training. 

1.    His  conversion  and  the  successive  stages  in  his  work. 

j.    Paul's  chief  social  teachings. 

k.  The  hopes  and  experiences  of  Jesus'  followers  during 
the  last  half  of  the  first  Christian  century. 

1.  The  contributions  of  early  Christianity  to  human 
thought  and  civilization. 


WORK  WITH  HIGH-SCHOOL  STUDENTS     155 

Methods : 

In  general  the  same  as  in  Course  II. 
As  a  guide  in  this  course  the  following  outline  is  suggested : 

A — Jesus 

1.  Extent  and  Power  of  the  Roman  Empire  in  Jesus'  Day. 

2.  Little  Palestine,  and  its  Sad  History. 

3.  The  Religious  Convictions  and  Hopes  of  Jesus'  People. 

4.  Jesus'  Early  Home  Training.     Mk.  1-9;  6-3. 

5.  Boyhood  Traits  as  Reflected  Back  from  His  Public  Ministry. 
Mk.  6.2-4;  10.7-9;  9.36,  10.13-16.     Lk.  2.41-50;  15.1-2,  10. 

6.  The  Influence  of  John  the  Baptist  upon  Jesus.     Mk.  1.1-11. 
Lk.  7.18-28a. 

7.  Jesus'  Dedication  to  His  Prophetic  Work.     Mk.  1.9-11.    Lk. 
4.1-13. 

8.'  The   Happy   Beginnings   of    Jesus'   Work.     Mk.    1.14.    Lk. 

4.14a.     Mk.  1.15.     Lk.  4.16-22a. 
9.  His    Contagious    Enthusiasm    for    His   Work.     Mk.    1.16-20, 

21-22,  27a,  28,  35-39;  6.6b-ll,  30-34,  45-46. 

10.  His  Care  for  the  Needy.  Mk.  1.23-26,  30-34,  40,45;  2.1-5, 
11.12. 

11.  His  Message  of  Joy  and  Helpfulness.  Mk.  2.18-19,  21-22, 
23-27;  3.1-4.     Mt.  12.11-12.     Lk.  15. 

12.  His  Call  for  Men  of  Sterling  Character.  Lk.  6.12-13a.  Mk. 
3.14-19.  Mk.  5.5,  7-12,  13-16,  20,  23,  27-28.  Lk.  6.27-28, 
31-36;  11.33-36;  14.25-35. 

13.  Jesus'  Disgust  with  Mere  Formalities  in  Religion.  Mt.  5.20, 
33-37;  6.1-4,  5-7,  16-18.    Mk.  7:6-8.    Mt.  15.13,  14a. 

14.  Discovering  the  Good  in  Other  People.    Lk.  6.37-38,  41-42,  39. 

15.  Absolute  Sincerity  in  Religion.  Mt.  7.15.  Lk.  6.43-49; 
11.37-44,  45-48,  51b-54.     Mk.  12.38-40. 

16.  Jesus  Clashes  with  the  Teachers  of  His  People.  Lk.  11.19-20. 
Mk.  7.1-2,  5-9,  14-15.     Mk.  3.23-30;   8.11-13,  15. 

17.  His  Family  and  Friends  Turn  Against  Him.  Mk.  3.19-21, 
31-35;    6.1-6.     Mt.  10.34-39. 

18.  How  Jesus  Rose  Above  His  Disappointments.  Mk.  4.1-9. 
Mt.  13.44-45.     Lk.  10.2-5,  11,  16,  21,  23-24. 

19.  His  Optimism  in  Face  of  Great  Odds.  Mt.  13.24-30.  Mk. 
4.26-29,  30-32.     Mt.  13.33. 

20.  Jesus  Driven  into  Exile.     Mk.  3,  6;  7.24,  31;  8.10-13,  27. 

21.  He  Spurns  Peter's  Suggestions  of  Political  Ambition.  Mk. 
8.27-30,  51,  33,  34-37;  9.1. 

22.  A  Prophet's  Mission  and  a  Prophet's  Doom.  Mk.  9.2-4,  7-8. 
Lk.  9.30-32.     Mk.  9.30-31a.     Lk.  12.49-51. 

23.  Living  for  the  Good  of  Others.  Mk.  9.33-36.  Mt.  18.4.  Mk, 
9.38-40.    Lk.  11.27-28.    Lk.  17.7-10.    Mk.  10.35-44,  18. 

24.  The  Fight  for  Nobility  of  Life.  Mk.  9.43-50.  Lk.  10.31-42; 
13.     22-25. 


156  THE  WEEK-DAY  CHURCH  SCHOOL 

25.  The  Sacredness  of  a  Child 's  Faith.  Mk.  9.42.  Mt.  18.10,  14. 
Mk.  10.13-16. 

26.  The  Spirit  of  Godlike  Forgiveness.  Mt.  18.15.  Lk.  17.3-4; 
9.51-56.     Mt.  18.23-35.     Mk.  11.25. 

27.  Wholehearted  Devotion  to  God.     Lk.  9.57-62. 

28.  How  to  Make  Prayer  a  Vital  Eeality.     Lk.  11.1-4;    18.9-14. 

29.  God's  Thorough  Understanding  of  All  Human  Need.  Lk. 
11.5-13. 

30.  Loyalty  to  Conviction.    Lk.  12.4-7. 

31.  The  Dangers  of  Wealth.  Lk.  12.13-21 ;  16.19-31.  Mk.  10.17, 
19-27. 

32.  All  Life  Under  the  Sway  of  God.  Lk.  12.35-40,  42-48; 
16-10-13;   17.20-21.     Mk.  13.28-32a,  35-36. 

33.  The  Divine  Love  for  the  Wayward.  Lk.  7.36-50.  Mt. 
11.28-30.     Jno.  7.53-8.11.     Mt.  21.28-32.     Lk.  15. 

34.  Jesus'  Appreciation  of  the  Eeligion  of  Non-Jews.  Lk.  10.30- 
37;   7.1-9. 

35.  His  Sorrow  over  the  Hardened  Spirit  of  the  Jewish  Teachers. 
Lk.  14.15-24.  Mk.  10.32.  Lk.  19.41-44.  Mt.  21.10,  11.  Mk. 
11.11,  15-19. 

36  Jesus'  Fight  to  Protect  the  Home.     Mk.  10.2-12. 

37.  Jesus'  Definitions  of  "Salvation"  and  **Real  Religion."  Mk. 
10.17,  19-27.     Lk.  19,  11-10.     Mk.  12.28-34. 

38.  Jesus  Sees  the  Hopelessness  of  His  Nation  under  Their  Pres- 
ent Leadership.     Mk.  12.1-5,  9,  12.     Mt.  22.1-10.     Mk.  13.1-2. 

39.  The  Heroic  Death  of  Jesus.  Mk.  14.32-42,  43-49a,  50,  53- 
61a,  15.1-5,  15-20,  21-32,  33,  37,  39-41. 

40.  The  New  Life  Which  Jesus  Imparted  to  His  Followers.  Lk. 
24.13-35.  Jno.  1.4-5,  16-18;  3.16;  8.12;  10.10-11,  16; 
12.24-25,  32;  13.34-35;  Chap.  21. 

B— Paul 

1.  Saul — ^Paul  and  His  Early  Life  in  Tarsus. 

2.  H^s    Career    as    a    Rabbinical   Student    and    Persecutor    of 
Heretics. 

3.  How  Paul  Was  Won  by  Jesus.     Gal.  1.10,  15-16;  2.7,  19-20; 
4.6-7;   5.14;    5.22-24;    6.15-16.     Acts  9.3-19a. 

4.  His  First  Work  as  a  Disciple  of  Jesus.     Acts  9.19b-31. 

5.  His  Broader  Work  at  Antioch  and  Galatia.     Acts  13.1-14.28. 

6.  How   Christianity  became   a   World   Religion.      Gal.    2.1-10, 
11-14.     Acts  15.1-35.     Gal.  2.15-21;  5.1-6.10. 

7.  The  First  Christian  Churches  in  Europe.     Acts  15.36-19.1. 

8  to  10.  Paul 's  Work  for  the  Corinthian  and  Ephesian  Churches. 
Acts  19.1-21.14.     I  and  II  Corinthians. 
11    and    12.  His    Anticipations    of    Work    in   Western    Europe. 
Romans. 

13.  His  Disappointing  Imprisonment  at  Jerusalem  and  Caesarea. 
Acts  21.15-26.32. 

14.  To  Rome  as  a  Prisoner.    Acts  27.1-28.16. 


WORK  WITH  HIGH-SCHOOL  STUDENTS     157 

15.    His    Last    Work    in    the    Roman    Prison.    Acts    28.17-31. 
Philemon.     Colossians.    Philippians. 

The  Commission  further  recommends  that  as  a  desirable  prep- 
aration for  later  Bible  work,  students  between  the  ages  of  nine 
and  thirteen — either  in  the  home  or  the  school — ^be  directed  and 
encouraged  to  commit  to  memory  the  following  Biblical  passages : 

OLD  TESTAMENT 

1.  The  Ten  Commandments.     Exodus  20:1-17. 

2.  The  Two  Great  Commandments.  Deut.  6:4,  5  and  Lev. 
19:18b. 

3.  Ten  Great  Proverbs.  (1)  Prov.  16:3;  (2)  29:11;  (3)  16:32; 
(4)  16:8;  (5)  15:7;  (6)  15:1;  (7)  16:18;  (8)  26:27;  (9) 
11:25;    (10)  14:34. 

4.  True  Eeligion.     Micah  6:8;  Isaiah  58:5 — 9b. 

5.  The  Two  Ways  of  Thinking.     Psalm  1. 

6.  The  Psalmist's  Decalogue.     Psalm  15. 

7.  The  Psalm  of  Trust.     Psalm  23. 

8.  God's  Message  through  His  Works  and  Word.    Psalm  19. 

9.  The  Goodness  of  God.    Psalm  103. 
10.  God's  Rule  on  Earth.     Isaiah  2:1-4. 

NEW  TESTAMENT 

1.  The  First  Christmas.     Luke.  2:8-18. 

2.  Jesus'  Love  for  Children.    Matt.  19:13,  14. 

3.  A  Universal  Prayer.     Matt.  6:9-13. 

4.  The  Golden  Rule.     Matt.  7:12. 

5.  The  Beatitudes.     Matt.  5:3-12. 

6.  Ten  Sayings  of  the  Great  Teacher.  (1)  Matt.  7:7,  8;  (2) 
Matt.  7:1;  (3)  Luke  12:48b;  (4)  Matt.  6:1,  3;  (5)  Luke 
6:38;  (6)  Mark  10:43b,  44;  (7)  Matt.  7:16,  17;  (8)  Matt. 
6:21;   (9)  Matt.  5:44,  45;   (10)  John  15:13. 

7.  The  Parable  of  the  Good  Samaritan.     Luke  10:30-37. 

8.  Right  Thinking.     Phil.  4:8. 

9.  Paul's  Song  of  Love.     I  Cor.  13. 

10.  The  value  of  the  Bible.    II  Timothy  3:16,  17. 

EDUCATIONAL    STANDARDS   AND    SUPERVISION 

The  Educational  Standards  and  Methods  of  Inspection  and 
Supervision  will  be  determined  for  all  schools  subject  to  the 
jurisdiction  of  state  inspections  by  the  duly  appointed  state 
inspectors  in  the  several  states. 

Colleges  which  admit  by  examination  should  apply  for  exami- 
nation questions  to  the  appropriate  Entrance  Examination 
Boards. 

The  colleges  which  admit  to  the  freshman  class  by  certificate 
from  secondary  schools  not  subject  to  the  jurisdiction  of  state 


158         THE  WEEK-DAY  CHURCH-SCHOOL 

inspectors  and  conducting  work  in  accordance  with  the  plan  pro- 
posed by  the  Commission,  will  nominate  to  the  Commission,  act- 
ing in  conjunction  with  the  Council  of  Church  Boards  of  Edu- 
cation, competent  persons  to  serve  as  inspectors  of  these  second- 
ary schools  and  from  the  list  so  nominated  by  the  colleges  the 
Commission  will  designate  the  inspectors  for  each  state.  Wher- 
ever possible,  these  independent  inspectors,  who  may  be  heads  of 
departments  of  Biblical  Literature  and  Religious  Education,  and 
others  designated  by  the  colleges,  should  relate  their  work  to 
that  of  the  state  inspectors  and  admission  boards. 

These  inspectors  will  investigate  and  report  upon  the  following 
phases  of  work: 

I.     Courses  of  Study: 

Which  of  the  three  courses  of  study  proposed  by  the  Commis- 
sion are  being  caried  out: 

1.  Narratives  and  Songs  of  the  Old  Testament. 

2.  History  of  the  Hebrew  Commonwealth. 

3.  Life  and  Work  of  Jesus  and  Paul. 
II.     Teacher  Qualifications: 

The  minimum  scholastic  requirement  is  college  graduation. 
The  minimum  professional  requirement  is  one  year's  special  train- 
ing under  conditions  approved  by  the  Commission  on  Biblical 
Literature  and  allied  subjects,  with  observation  and  practice. 
The  inspector  will  report  also  on  the  evidences  of  the  teacher's 
fitness  as  indicated  by  such  items  as  books  read,  courses  taken, 
conferences  and  institutes  attended.  In  individual  cases  the 
requirements  of  the  college  from  which  the  credit  is  desired  should 
be  met  in  full.  In  general,  class  instruction  should  conform  to 
modern  standards  in  our  best  secondary  schools. 

HI.     Class  Rooms: 

Lighting,  heating,  ventilation  and  material  equipment,  includ- 
ing maps,  charts,  blackboards  and  furniture,  should  meet  stand- 
ard requirements  in  modem  educational  institutions. 

The  room  should  be  separated  from  others  by  solid  walls  or 
sound  proof  partitions,  and  should  provide  not  less  than  15 
square  feet  per  pupil,  the  room  under  no  circumstances  being  less 
than  12x12  feet. 

The  lights  should  come  from  the  side  or  back;  clear,  light  win- 
dows— not  stained  glass  or  half  lights — are  required. 

The  seats  may  be  ordinary  chairs  with  tables,  all  pupils  facing 
in  one  direction,  or  regular  class  room  seats  with  writing  boards. 

Equipment  shall  consist  of  modern  maps  of  Palestine,  prefer- 
ably either  those  of  the  Palestine  Exploration  Fund  Series,  the 


WORK  WITH  HIGH-SCHOOL  STUDENTS     159 

Kent-Madsen  series,  or  the  George  Adams  Smith  Atlas.  The 
school  shall  also  possess  Hasting-'s  one  volume  dictionary  of  the 
Bible,  and  one  blackboard  at  least  4x10  feet.  Other  desirable 
items  are  stereographic  equipment  and  museums. 

OTHER  HIGH-SCHOOL  COURSES 

The  text-book  material  is  so  rich  and  varied  that  one  can  only 
call  attention  to  certain  books  which  are  especially  suitable. 

The  Abingdon  Series,  for  these  years,  includes  texts  on  "The 
Geography  of  Mission  Lands,"  "Training  the  Junior  Citizen/' 
"Vocations  Within  the  Church," 

The  Pilgrim  Press  issued  some  years  ago  a  very  useful  series 
including  "Books  of  the  Bible  and  Their  Place  in  History," 
Hazard  and  Gowler;  "The  Life  of  Jesus,"  S.  B.  Stewart;  "The 
Days  of  the  Kings  of  Israel,"  Wood  and  Hall. 

The  Missionary  Education  Movement  issues  "Stories  of  Broth- 
erhood," H.  Hunting;  "Making  Life  Count,"  E.  G.  Foster;  "Men 
and  Things,"  H.  C.  Atkinson. 

These  are  suitable  for  use  in  week-day  school  because  of  their 
close  contacts  with  reality  and  with  modern  life  as  young  people 
see  it. 

The  Association  Press  has  certain  texts  which  are  useful  for 
the  upper  grades:  "Christianizing  the  Community  Life,"  A.  J. 
W.  Myers;  "A  Life  at  Its  Best,"  Edward  and  Cutler;  "Life  Prob- 
lems," Doggett  and  Hall. 

The  University  of  Chicago  Series  includes  certain  excellent 
texts  especially  designed  for  high-school  people  and  very  well 
arranged  for  week-day  work.     They  include: 

"Problems  of  Boyhood,"  F.  W.  Johnson.     On  school,  ethical 
questions. 

"Lives  Worth  Living,"  Miss  Peabody.     Eminent  women. 
"The  Third  and  Fourth  Generation,"  Prof.  Downing.    Ap- 
plied biology. 

"Christianity  in  the  Apostolic  Age,"  G.  S.  Gilbert.    Biblical, 
historical. 
The  Beacon  Press  offers  one  epecially  good :  "Our  Part  in  the 
World,"  E.  L.  Cabot.     On  young  people's  work  in  the  world. 

In  the  series  published  by  Charles  Seribner's  Sons  the  texts 
best  suited  to  the  high-school  years  are: 
"The  Story  of  the  Bible,"  H.  Hunting. 
"The  Life  of  Jesus,"  B.  J.  Forbush. 
"Hebrew  History,"  F.  K.  Sanders. 
"Jesus  Principles  of  Living,"  Kent  and  Jenks. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 
FORMS  USED  IN  SCHOOLS 


P35-10M-5-2O 


Gary,  Ind., 192.... 


To  THE  Superintendent  of  Schools  : 

Jane  Smith 


Kindly  Excuse- 


Name  of  Student 

J,        ,,                    Emerson  ^  ,     , 

from  the  School  on 

Tuesdays  and  Fridays     „  8:15       .         9:15    . 

Days  Hours 

^^    ,     ,.  .       .    ^     ^.        ,  ^,     Community  Church 
attend  religious  instruction  at  the    •  • 

School  ^    ,          7  A       ^.      ^j 
Grade Class  No. 


Church  School 
42 


M,  E.  Snyder, 

Reg.  Teacher 

E.  A.  Spaulding, 

Principal 


(3Irs.)  E.  U.  Smith, 

Signature  of  Parent  or  Guardian 

649  Maryland 
•  ••*•«•••• ...». 

Address 


FORM  OP  parent's  REQUEST  CARD  USED  AT  GARY 

160 


FORMS  USED  IN  SCHOOLS  161 

Duplicate 
January,  19S0 

REQUEST  FOR  DISMISSAL 

To   the  Superintendent   of   the  Northfield,  Minn,,  Public 
Schools : 

In  accordance  with  a  resolution  adopted  by  the  Board 
of  Education  January  12,  1920,  you  are  hereby  courteously 

,   ,  ,     ,.     .      Keith  E.  Hollis  and  Gordon  Hollis 
requested  to  dismiss 

from  school,  Wednesday  at  2:45  p.  m.,  that -.-may 

receive  religious  instruction   at  this  hour  in  the  Baptist 
Church  School  of  Religious  Education. 

When  such  instruction  ceases  to  be  given,  proper  no- 
tice will  be  given  you  that  this  dismissal  privilege  may  be 
withdrawn.  Such  notice  will  be  sent  you  either  by  the 
teacher  who  gives  the  religious  instruction  or  by  myself. 

Mrs,  B.  C,  Hollis 
Parent, 


POEM   OP   PAEENT'S   REQTJEST   CARD  FOR   THE   WEDNESDAY   CHURCH 
SCHOOLS   AT  NORTHFIELD,   MINN     . 


162  THE  WEEK-DAY  CHURCH-SCHOOL 

WEEK-DAY  BIBLE  STUDY 
Pupil's  Name 

Street  Address 

Classes  for  week-day  religious  instruction  will  be  offered 
again  this  year  for  the  benefit  of  the  pupils  of  the  public 
schools. 

The  cooperating  churches  of  Van  Wert  have  each  as- 
sumed its  share  of  the  budget  for  the  support  of  this  work 
for  the  coming  year.  There  will  be  a  necessary  increase 
in  the  expense  of  carrying  on  the  project  in  every  item 
over  that  of  the  past  two  years.  Heretofore  the  oppor- 
tunity for  Bible  instruction  has  been  absolutely  free  to 
pupils  whether  their  parents  were  contributors  to  the  work 
or  not. 

Each  pupil  will  make  a  notebook  during  the  year  which 
he  may  keep  at  the  close  of  the  year's  work.  The  actual 
cost  of  these  is  fifty  cents  each.  The  Board  of  Religious 
Education  has  decided  to  ask  the  parents  to  share  in  the 
increased  expense  this  year  by  paying  for  the  notebooks. 
However,  no  pupil  will  be  debarred  from  the  privilege  of 
religious  instruction  if  they  cannot  afford  to  pay  this 
amount. 

No  pupil  will  be  allowed  to  elect  Bible  Study  without 
the  return  of  this  card,  signed  by  the  parent. 

Parent's  Signature 

Church  parent  attends 

Sunday  School  pupil  attends 

Public  School  Public  School  t»     -d    a 

Ward  Grade  P"?"^ '  ^^ 


P0»M  OP  parent's  request  card,  used  at  van  WEBT,  OHIO 

(Note  the  information  on  the  plan  and  method  of  school) 


FORMS  USED  IN  SCHOOLS  163 

OAK  PARK  PUBLIC  SCHOOLS 

To  Parents  and  Guardians: 

At  a  recent  meeting  of  the  Board  of  Education,  the 
Superintendent  of  Schools  was  authorized  to  cooperate  with 
the  Oak  Park-River  Forest  Board  of  Religious  Education, 
to  the  extent  of  allowing  pupils  to  elect  classes  in  religious 
studies  offered  in  churches  of  this  community.  Parents  or 
giiardians  who  desire  to  make  this  election  will  please  indi- 
cate their  decision  by  filling  out  the  form  on  the  other  side 
of  this  card. 

Parents  who  do  not  care  to  have  their  children  elect  the 
work  in  Religion  and  Morals  as  offered  by  the  churches, 
need  not  return  this  card.  Pupils  not  electing  this  work 
will  remain  in  the  class  work  of  their  respective  schools. 

If  the  privilege  of  attending  the  classes  in  the  churches 
is  abused  for  truancy,  or  otherwise,  it  will  be  withdrawn. 

W.  J.  Hamilton, 

Superintendent, 


FORM  OF  LETTER  PROM  THE  PUBLIC   SCHOOL  BOARD   TO  PARENTS^, 
ON   THE  ORGANIZATION  OF  VSTEEK-DAY   CHURCH    SCHOOLS 


164  THE  WEEK-DAY  CHURCH-SCHOOL 

BATAVIA  PUBLIC  SCHOOLS 

To  THE  Parents: 

In  accordance  with  the  Batavia  plan  for  week-day  reli- 
gious instruction,  pupils  in  the  elementary  schools,  on  ap- 
plication of  parents  made  on  the  other  side  of  this  card, 
will  be  pennitted  for  one  hour  on  Thursday  to  attend 
church  for  religious  instruction. 

If  the  privilege  is  abused  for  truancy,  or  otherwise,  it 
will  be  withdrawn.  Pupils  who  remain  in  school  will  have 
a  study  hour. 

F.  C.  Storm,  Superintendent. 


FORM  OP  NOTICE  TO  PARENTS  FROM  THE  SUPERINTENDENT  OF 
PUBLIC    SCHOOLS   AT  BATAVIA,   ILL. 


To  THE  Superintendent  of  Schools: 

Please  permit  my  child 

to  attend  the  church  indicated  by  (x)  below  for  one  hour 
each  week. 


( 


Baptist  (     )     Bethany  Swedish  Luth- 

Brethren  eran 


Holy  Cross  Roman  Cath. 
Christian 
Congregational 
First  Methodist 
Study  Hour  (in  case  no 
church  is  selected). 


)  Swedish  M.  E.  (at  M.  B.) 

)  Swedish  Ev.  Mission 

)  German  Evangelical 

)  Episcopal 

)  Immanuel  Ger.  Luth. 


Date 19 Parent, 


POEM  OP  parent's  REQUEST  CARD,  BATAVIA,  ILL. 

(Reverse  given  above) 


FORMS  USED  IN  SCHOOLS  165 

PARENT'S  REQUEST 

FOR  CHILD  TO  ATTEND 

St.  Paul's  Week-day  School  of  Religious  Education 


To  the  Principal  of  School  Number, 
fson  \ 


I  desire  my  \  daughter 


Grade ,  M ,  Teacher,  to 

be  excused  to  attend  regular  class  work  in  St.  Paul's  Week- 
day School  of  Religious  Education. 


Signed 

Parent  or  Guardian 


Address Phone. 


parent's  request  card;    form  used  by  the  PR0TE6TAMT 
EPISCOPAL  DEMONSTRATION   SCHOOLS 


ABSENCE  BLANK 
FORM  NO.  4 

St.  Paul's  Week-day  School  of  Religious  Education 

of   Grade 

School  No ,  M Teacher 


/ tardy  ^ 
\  absent/ 


was  Labsentj  from  regular  {?1?>ss  work  on. . . . 
date 192 


*:»:x 


(absence  \ 
tardiness  J  was excused. 


Signed 

Teacher 


ABSENCE  REPORT  CARD;   FORM  USED  IN  PROTESTANT  EPISCOPAL  SCHOOLS 


166         THE  WEEK-DAY  CHURCH-SCHOOL 

ATTENDANCE  SHEET 
F18b-10M-9-18 


DIST. 

ROOM 

NO. 


NAMES 


PERIODS 


A.M. 

P.M. 

1 

2 

3 

4 

1 

2 

3 

4 

TEACHERS 


DATE 


ATTENDANCE  REPORT  TO   PUBLIC   SCHOOLS 

Form  used  in  the  Gary  Community  Schools. 


Name 

Address 

Telephone 

Age               Grade 

Class  No.                School 

Sunday  School 

Department 

Church  Member? 

Parents'  Name 

Church  Preference 

Remarks : 

OFFICE  RECORD  CARD 

Used  at  Gary,  and  kept  in  file  in  oflSice  of  the  Community  Board 


FORMS  USED  IN  SCHOOLS  167 

COMMUNITY  CHUECH  SCHOOL  MONTHLY  REPOET 

OF Gary,  Indiana 19. . . . 

Music 


Discussion 
Story  telling 


Memory  work 


Note  hook  work 

Special 

Self-control 

Number  of  sessions  Days  absent 


We  should  be  very  glad  to  have  the  parents  visit  the  Church 
School  and  see  the  work  the  pupils  are  doing.  Your  interest 
will  increase  the  interest  of  your  child,  encourage  the  teadier  and 
help  to  build  up  the  school. 

Respectfully, 

Teacher, 

Pupils'  reports  sent  to  parents  of  children  from  fifth  grade 
up  through  H.  S. 


pupil's  monthly  report  card 

The  use  of  this  card  begins  with  the  Fifth  Grade  at  Gary ;  pupils  are 
required  to  take  the  report  home  to  their  parents 


168 


THE  WEEK-DAY  CHURCH-SCHOOL 


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CHAPTER  XIX 

OFFICIAL  RESOLUTIONS 
AND  DECLARATIONS  OF  PRINCIPLES 

I.      THE  RELIGIOUS  EDUCATION  ASSOCIATION 

A  STATEMENT  of  Principles  adopted  at  the  close  of  a  three-days 
conference  on  week-day  religious  instruction. 

"1.  The  church  and  state  are  to  be  regarded  as  distinct  insti- 
tutions, which,  as  far  as  possible,  cooperate  through  the  agency 
of  their  common  constituents  in  their  capacity  as  individual 
citizens. 

"2.  All  children  are  entitled  to  an  organic  program  of  educa- 
tion, which  shall  include  adequate  facilities,  not  only  for  general 
but  for  religious  instruction  and  training. 

"3.  Such  a  division  of  the  child's  time  as  will  allow  oppor- 
tunity and  strength  for  religious  education  should  be  reached  by 
consultation  between  parents  and  public-school  authorities  with- 
out formal  agreement  between  the  state  and  the  churches  as  in- 
stitutions. 

"4.  The  work  of  religious  instruction  and  training  should  be 
done  by  such  institutions  as  the  home,  the  church,  and  the  private 
school,  and  not  by  the  public  school  nor  in  official  connection 
with  the  public  school. 

"5.  The  work  of  religious  education  must  depend  for  dignity, 
interest,  and  stimulus  upon  the  recognition  of  its  worth,  not 
merely  by  public-school  authorities,  but  by  the  people  themselves 
as  represented  in  the  homes,  the  churches,  private  schools  and 
colleges,  and  industries. 

"6.  The  success  of  a  program  of  religious  education  depends — 

"(1)  Upon  the  adoption  of  a  schedule  which  shall  include  the 
systematic  use  of  week-days  as  well  as  Sundays  for  religious  in- 
struction and  training. 

"(2)  Upon  more  adequate  provision  for  training  in  the  ex- 
perience of  public  and  private  worship,  and  for  the  use  of  wor- 
ship as  an  educational  force. 

"(3)  Upon  the  degree  to  which  the  materials  and  methods  em- 
ployed express  both  sound  educational  theory  and  the  ideals  of 

170 


RESOLUTIONS  AND  DECLARATIONS        171 

the  religious  community  in  a  systematic  plan  for  instruction  and 
training  which  shall  include  all  the  educational  work  of  the  local 
church,  whether  such  church  works  independently  or  in  coopera- 
tion with  other  churches. 

"(4)  Upon  the  degree  to  which  professional  standards  and  a 
comprehensive  plan  are  made  the  basis  of  the  preparation  of 
teachers  for  work  in  religious  education. 

"(5)  Upon  the  degree  to  which  parents  awake  to  the  unpar- 
alleled opportunity  for  the  religious  education  of  our  children 
and  youth,  the  profound  need  for  sympathetic  cooperation  among 
all  citizens  of  whatever  faith,  and  the  call  for  sacrifice  in  time 
and  thought,  in  effort  and  money,  consecrated  to  the  children  of 
the  kingdom. 

"(6)  Upon  the  degree  to  which  the  churches  awake  to  their 
responsibility  for  the  instruction  and  training  of  the  world^s 
children  in  the  religious  life,  and  take  up  with  intelligence  and 
devotion  their  common  task." 

II.      THE  INTERNATIONAL   SUNDAY   SCHOOL   ASSOCIATION 

"The  Committee  on  Education  of  the  International  Sunday 
School  Association  recommends  the  following  system  of  reli- 
gious SCHOOLS  to  complement  the  system  of  public  schools: 

1.  A  system  of  schools  for  the  masses,  including, 

a.  Elementary  Schools 

b.  Secondary  Schools 

c.  Religious    Day    Schools,    coordinate   with    the    church 

schools 

d.  Adult  Schools 

e.  Church  Colleges 

f.  Graduate  Schools  of  Religion. 

2.  A  system  of  training  schools,  including, 

a.  Training  Classes  in  the  Local  Churches 

b.  Community  Training  Schools 

e.  Training  Schools  for  Special  Groups 

d.  Departments  of  Religious  Education  in  Colleges, 

e.  Graduate  Schools  of  Religious  Education. 

3.  A  system  of  supervision,  including, 

a.  Superintendent  of  Local  School 

b.  Community  Superintendent  of  Religious  Education. 

c.  County  or  City  Superintendent  of  Religious  Education 

d.  State  or  Provincial  Superintendent  of  Religious  Edu- 

cation. 


172         THE  WEEK-DAY  CHURCH-SCHOOL 

e.  International  General  Superintendent  of  Religious  Ed- 
ucation." 


m.      SUGGESTED    PLATFORM    FOR    RELIGIOUS    BODIES    INTERESTED    IN 
WEEK-DAY  RELIGIOUS  SCHOOLS 

1.  Upon  the  home  must  primarily  rest  the  responsibility  for 
religious  instruction  and  training. 

2.  The  public  school  came  into  existence  to  assist  the  home  and 
the  state  in  the  interests  of  the  child. 

3.  When  the  home  and  school  are  unable  to  give  the  child  a 
necessary  life  equipment,  the  need  of  which  they  mutually 
agree  upon,  cooperation  is  necessaiy. 

4.  By  cooperation  we  mean  that -the  public  school  authorities 
shall  assign  to  the  pupil  upon  the  definite  request  of  the 
child's  parent,  or  guardian,  a  portion  of  his  school  time  to 
be  given  up  to  religious  instruction  at  such  place  as  shaJl 
be  selected  by  the  parent. 

5.  The  importance  of  securing  school  time  is  to  emphasize  in 
the  eyes  of  the  child  that  religion"  is  a  part  of  his  daily 
"business"  an  opportunity  for  larger  self-expression. 
(Adopted  by  a  committee  representing  schools  and  churches 
in  some  ten  cities.) 

IV.      PRESBYTERIAN 

(From  a  Bulletin  Issued  by  The  Presbyterian  Board  of  Pub- 
lications and  Sunday-school  Work,  1920.) 

Week-Day  Religious  Instruction. — The  Daily  Vacation  Bible 
School  cannot  fill  all  the  gap.  It  can  only  fill  the  gap  in  vacation 
time.  It  leaves  the  school  year  with  the  burden  of  religious  edu- 
cation carried  by  the  Sunday  School — a  Sunday  School,  meeting 
one  hour  a  week.  The  Religious  Education  Division  of  the  Inter- 
Church  World  Movement  reports  that  the  1,600,000  Jewish  chil- 
dren in  the  United  States  receive  an  average  of  250  hours'  reli- 
gious education  annually.  The  8,000,000  Catholic  children  receive 
200  hours  of  religious  education  annually.  But  the  Protestant 
children  receive  an  average  of  only  26  hours  of  religious  educa- 
tion annually.  What  we  supremely  value  we  take  pains  to  pass 
on  to  our  children.  Do  the  Jews  prize  their  religion  so  much 
more  highly  than  the  Protestants?  Do  the  Catholics  realize  the 
value  of  their  religious  heritage  so  much  more  than  the  Protes- 


RESOLUTIONS  AND  DECLARATIONS         173 

tants?  Here  is  an  appalling  failure  of  Protestanism,  a  failure 
that  threatens  its  life.     We  may  do  one  of  three  things : 

a.  Insist  that  the  State  pro\dde  religious  education  in  the  public 
schools.  That  would  certainly  result  in  the  secularization  of  reli- 
gious instruction.  Moreover,  it  is  contrary  to  the  principles  of 
democracy. 

h.  Erect  a  system  of  parochial  schools.  That  would  withdraw 
the  Church's  children  from  the  common  life  of  the  public  schools 
which  is  so  essential  an  element  in  training  for  life  in  a  democracy. 

c.  Create,  in  cooperation  with  the  public  schools,  a  system  of 
week-day  religious  instruction.  This  instruction  to  be  given  under 
Church  auspices,  at  the  Church's  expense,  by  teachers  provided 
by  the  Church.  It  would  be  real  religious  education.  The  Gary 
Plan  is  a  well-known  and  successful  experiment.  Other  experi- 
ments are  being  tried  here  and  there  over  the  country.  The  Board 
proposes  to  encourage  these  experiments,  to  become  a  clearing 
house  of  information  concerning  them,  and  to  help  the  Church 
find  its  way  toward  an  adequate  system  of  week-day  religious 
instruction.  The  General  Board  of  Education  is  cooperating, 
particularly  in  the  matter  of  securing  legislation  which  allows 
credit  in  the  State  schools  for  work  done  in  the  Church  schools. 
Intelligent  and  persistent  effort  will  be  required.  It  will  cost 
money.  But  the  Protestant  Church  is  to-day  paying  three  times 
as  much  for  its  janitors  as  it  is  paying  for  the  religious  education 
of  its  children  and  youth. 

V.      THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  COUNCIL 

The  Sunday  School  Council  of  Evangelical  Denominations,  at 
its  annual  meeting  held  in  St.  Louis  January  28-30,  1920,  ap- 
pointed a  special  Committee  on  Week-Day  Religious  Instruction 
and  instructed  that  committee  to  prepare  a  report  to  be  submitted 
at  the  next  annual  meeting  of  the  council.  This  report  is  being 
prepared  upon  the  basis  of  the  following  principles: 

I.  In  view  of  the  constitutional  provision  for  the  separation 
of  church  and  state  and  of  its  guarantee  of  religious 
freedom  to  all,  week-day  religious  instruction  will  be 
conducted,  necessarily,  upon  a  voluntary  basis  and  with- 
out the  use  of  public  funds. 
II.  The  responsibility  for  week-day  religious  instruction  can- 
not rest  upon  the  state,  but  it  does  rest  upon  the  church. 
There  is  imperative  need  that  the  church  be  further 
awakened  to  an  intelligent  sense  of  its  inherent  right,  its 
essential  function,  and  its  moral  obligation  to  teach  re- 
ligion to  all  future  citizens. 


174         THE  WEEK-DAY  CHURCH-SCHOOL 

IIL  Just  as  common  intelligence  is  impossible  without  the 
common  school,  so  common  religion  and  morality  are  im- 
possible without  common  religious  and  moral  training. 

IV.  If  religious  training  is  to  be  universal  it  must  be  organ- 
ized and  maintained,  ultimately,  on  the  basis  of  geograph- 
ical areas,  and  not  on  the  basis  of  competitive  denomi- 
national activity.  However,  during  the  present  transition 
period,  independent  denominational  efforts  may  be  both 
necessary  and  serviceable. 
V.  The  religious  life  of  America  will  never  cease  to  fall  into 
denominational  molds.  The  moral,  financial,  religious 
and  educational  resources  necessary  to  sustain  a  credit- 
able system  of  week-day  religious  instruction  will  come 
largely  from  the  denominations.  Hence  the  integrity 
and  autonomy  of  denominational  units  will  always  be 
conserved;  it  is  through  them  that  the  church  (universal) 
will  function  educationally. 

VI.  The  Sunday  school,  because  of  its  many  limitations,  can- 
not carry  the  full  responsibility  for  the  religious  training 
of  American  youth.  In  addition  to  its  highly  important 
work  there  will  be  required  a  substantial  program  of 
week-day  instruction. 
VII.  The  community  is  a  natural  unit  in  our  national  life. 
Practical  considerations  make  it  necessary  to  establish 
community  programs  of  religious  education  and  to  con- 
duct them  on  the  basis  of  a  large  measure  of  local  con- 
trol, such  as  obtains  in  the  operation  of  the  public  school 
system. 
VIII.  All  such  local  community  programs  of  religious  education 
will  recognize  the  inalienable  responsibility  and  worth  of 
the  public  school.  Through  close  affiliations  and  co- 
operation with  it  they  will  seek  to  build  a  unified  and 
coherent  system  of  American  education  wherein  the  social 
ideals  now  being  engendered  by  the  public  school  will 
be  reenforced  and  supported  by  religious  motives,  and 
wherein  the  religious  motives  of  the  pupils  will  find  ex- 
pression in  suitable  tjT)es  of  social  and  civic  activities. 

IX.  Public  school  boards  ought  to  be  willing  to  make  the 
experiment  of  giving  from  two  to  three  hours  per  week 
of  time  in  the  grade  schools  or  from  two  to  three  units 
of  credit  in  the  high  school,  or  both,  for  purposes  of 
religious  instruction.  They  should  not  be  asked  to  make 
the  experiment,  however,  unless  it  is  in  the  hands  of  those 
•  who  have  an  intelligent  appreciation  of  what  is  involved 

in  making  it  a  permanent  success;  nor  should  they  con- 
tinue the  practice  of  giving  such  time  or  credits  unless 
educational  values  are  clearly  established  within  a  reason- 
able length  of  time. 


RESOLUTIONS  AND  DECLARATIONS         175 

X.  Because  of  its  close  correlation  with  the  work  of  the  pub- 
lic school,  the  curriculum  of  the  week-day  religious  schools 
will  carry  values  common  to  all  denominations,  leaving 
to  the  Sunday  school  many  of  these  common  values  as 
well  as  all  sectarian  and  distinctively  denominational 
matters.  Careful  correlation  between  the  curriculum  of 
the  church  school  and  that  of  the  M'erk-day  religious 
schools  is  essential.  They  should  constitute  a  well  inte- 
grated system. 
XI.  In  the  inauguration  and  development  of  such  a  program, 
points  of  close  correlation  with  the  public  school  curric- 
ulum will  occur  chiefly  in  the  subjects  of  geography, 
reading,  history,  English  composition,  civics  and  morals; 
but  the  instruction  in  religions  will  be  given  in  such  a 
manner  that  the  religious  motive  will  permeate  the  study 
of  all  other  subjects. 
XII.  The  curricula  of  both  public  and  church  schools  are 
already  overcrowded.  It  is  futile  to  try  to  include  in 
them  all  subjects  that  are  inherently  and  educationally 
valuable.  Henceforth,  the  questions:  What  subjects  to 
include.  How  much  time  to  give  to  each,  and.  What  sub- 
jects to  exclude,  will  have  to  be  answered  on  the  basis 
of  relative  values. 
Xm.  In  setting  up  a  local  organization  to  carry  through  such  a 
program,  the  following  principles  should  be  recognized: 

1.  Each  denomination,  through  its  properly  constituted 
Sunday  school  authorities,  has  the  right  and  duty  to 
direct  its  own  Sunday  school  work. 

2.  There  is  need  of  cooperative  effort  between  the  va- 
rious denominations  and  between  general  organizations 
such  as  the  International  Sunday  School  Association, 
the  Y.  M,  C.  A.  and  Y.  W.  C.  A. 

3.  Community  and  local  organizations  have  rights  of  ini- 
tiative and  local  self-government. 

4.  The  cooperating  local  churches  and  organizations  have 
the  right  as  such  to  be  repr  sented  in  the  direction 
and  control  of  any  community  movement  which  has  for 
its  purpose  either  the  training  of  Trorkers  for  the  local 
churches  or  the  religious  instruction  of  the  children 
of  the  churches. 

XIV.  In  the  selection  and  employment  of  teachers  who  are  to 
be  responsible  for  the  week-day  program,  the  primary  con- 
sideration is  their  ability  to  teach  with  sincerity  and  en- 
thusiasm the  material  contained  in  V.h9.  week-day  curric- 
ulum. Such  ability  presupposes  both  professional  train- 
ing and  personal  loyalty  to  those  gmnt  spiritual  truths 
that  underlie  all  ordered  and  peaceable  civilization. 


176         THE  WEEK-DAY  CHURCH-SCHOOL 

VI.      THE  MITTHODIST  BOARD  OF   SUNDAY   SCHOOLS 

Some  Guiding  Principles  of  Week-Day  Religious  Instruction 

Pastors  and  other  church  leaders  who  are  contemplating  the 
launching  of  week-day  religious  schools  are  urged  to  study  care- 
fully the  principles  involved  in  such  an  undertaking. 

This  work  is  still  in  an  experimental  stage.  Nevertheless,  there 
has  been  a  sufficient  period  of  study  and  experimentation  to  clear 
up  many  practical  problems.  An  attempt  has  been  made  to 
gather  up  the  results  of  these  experiments  and  to  make  a  thorough 
study  of  the  factors  involved.  The  results  are  set  forth  in  the 
following  statements. 

It  is  hoped  that  advantage  will  be  taken  of  this  information 
before  new  projects  are  undertaken.  It  is  better  not  to  launch  a 
program  of  week-day  religious  instruction  at  all  than  to  make  a 
wrong  start,  awaken  opposition  unnecessarily,  and  soon  arrive  at 
a  situation  of  embarrassment  and  temporary  defeat. 

The  movement  is  rapidly  gaining  headway.  It  is  destined  to 
make  a  direct  and  vital  contribution  to  the  welfare  of  our 
American  communities  and  of  the  nation.  Conditions  are  ripe  for 
the  inauguration  of  these  schools.  The  public  is  interested;  the 
immediate  need  is  for  trustworthy  leaders  in  local  churches. 

I.  The  Sunday  school,  because  of  its  limitations  in  time,  equip- 
ment, and  trained  leaders,  cannot  carry  the  full  responsibility  for 
the  religious  training  of  American  youth.  In  addition  to  its 
highly  important  work  on  Sunday  there  is  required  a  substantial 
program  of  week-day  instruction  and  activity. 

II.  The  responsibility  for  week-day  religious  instruction 
cannot  rest  upon  the  state,  but  it  does  rest  upon  the  home  and  the 
church.  There  is  imperative  need  that  the  church  leaders  become 
well  informed  concerning  this  primary  responsibility  and  that  the 
church  members  be  further  awakened  to  an  intelligent  sense  of 
the  church's  inherent  right,  its  essential  function,  and  its  moral 
obligation  to  teach  religion  to  all  future  American  citizens. 

III.  The  religious  life  of  America  falls  naturally  into  de- 
nominational molds.  The  moral,  financial,  religious  and  educa- 
tional resources  necessary  to  sustain  a  creditable  system  of  week- 
day religious  instruction  will  come  primarily  from  the  denomina- 
tions. Hence,  the  integrity  and  autonomy  of  the  denominational 
units  need  to  be  conserved.  It  is  through  them  that  the  church 
(universal)  will  finally  perfect  an  adequate  educational  program. 

IV.  Just  as  common  intelligence  is  impossible  without  the 
common  school,  so  common  religion  and  morality  are  impossible 


RESOLUTIONS  AND  DECLARATIONS        177 

without  a  program  of  religious  and  moral  training  that  stresses 
common  values. 

V.  Because  of  its  close  correlation  with  the  work  of  the  public 
school,  the  curriculum  of  the  week-day  religious  schools  will  carry- 
values  common  to  all  denominations,  leaving  to  the  Sunday  school 
many  of  these  common  values  as  well  as  all  sectarian  and  dis- 
tinctively denominational  matters.  Careful  correlation  between 
the  curriculum  of  the  church  school  and  that  of  the  week-day 
religious  schools  is  essential.  They  should  constitute  a  well  inte- 
grated system. 

"VT.  If  religious  training  is  to  be  universal  it  must  be  organized 
and  maintained,  ultimately,  on  the  basis  of  geographical  areas, 
and  not  on  the  basis  of  competitive  denominational  activity. 
However,  during  the  present  transition  period,  independent  de- 
nominational efforts  may  be  both  necessary  and  serviceable. 
Wherever  such  independent  projects  are  undertaken  they  should 
be  guided  consciously  and  tactfully  toward  the  larger  task  of  the 
religious  training  of  all  the  children  of  all  the  people. 

VII.  In  view  of  the  constitutional  provision  for  the  separation 
of  church  and  state  and  of  its  guarantee  of  religious  freedom  to 
all,  week-day  religious  instruction  will  be  conducted  necessarily 
upon  a  voluntary  basis  and  without  the  use  of  public  funds,  school 
buildings,  or  equipment  except  when  rented  for  this  purpose. 

VIII.  Week-day  religious  instruction  may  be  sponsored  in 
three  ways : 

1.  By  a  local  church,  acting  independently  of  other  institutions. 

2.  By  a  group  of  churches  cooperating,  and  exclusive  of  all 
other  religious  interests  or  institutions. 

3.  By  a  community  council  of  religious  education  consisting 
primarily  of  church  members  but  including  also  those  who  repre- 
sent other  community  interests.  This  council  is  directly  respon- 
sible for  the  conservation  of  the  interests  of  the  churches.  It 
does  not  supersede  or  antagonize  them. 

IX.  Week-day  religious  instruction  should  be  housed  either  in 
churches  located  near  to  the  public  schools  or  in  buildings  erected 
for  this  purpose  and  located  in  close  proximity  to  the  public 
schools.  If  public  school  buildings  are  used,  it  should  be  with 
the  understanding  that  such  arrangement  is  only  temporary. 
Suitable  rental  should  be  paid  for  such  use.  Where  nearby 
churches  are  used  suitable  equipment  and  arrangement  of  class- 
rooms should  be  provided. 

X.  For  the  purposes  of  week-day  religious  instruction  the 
children  in  Grades  I  and  II  in  the  public  schools  may  be  grouped 


178         THE  WEEK-DAY  CHURCH-SCHOOL 

together.     Likewise  the  children  of  Grades  III  and  IV;  V  and 
VI;  VII  and  VIIL 

XL  The  community  is  one  of  the  natural  units  in  our  national 
life.  Practical  considerations  make  it  prudent,  as  far  as  possible, 
to  establish  community  programs  of  religious  education  and  to 
conduct  them  on  the  basis  of  a  large  measure  of  local  control. 
Thus  cooperation  with  the  public  school  system  may  be  brought 
about  with  greatest  ease. 

XII.  All  such  local  community  programs  of  religious  educa- 
tion will  recognize  the  inalienable  responsibility  and  worth  of  the 
public  school.  Through  close  affiliations  and  cooperation  with  it 
they  will  seek  to  build  a  unified  and  coherent  system  of  American 
education  wherein  the  social  ideals  now  being  engendered  by  the 
public  school  will  be  reenforced  and  supported  by  religious 
motives,  and  wherein  the  religious  motives  of  the  pupils  will  find 
expression  in  suitable  types  of  social  and  civic  activities. 

XIII.  Public  school  boards  ought  to  be  willing  to  make  the 
experiment  of  giving  from  two  to  three  hours  per  week  of  time 
in  the  elementary  schools  or  from  one  to  two  units  of  credit  in 
the  high  school,  or  both,  for  purposes  of  religious  instruction. 
They  should  not  be  asked  to  make  the  experiment,  however, 
unless  it  is  in  the  hands  of  those  who  have  an  intelligent  appre- 
ciation of  what  is  involved  in  making  it  a  permanent  success; 
nor  should  they  continue  the  practice  of  giving  such  time  or 
credits  unless  educational  values  are  clearly  established  within  a 
reasonable  length  of  time. 

XIV.  In  the  inauguration  and  development  of  such  a  pro- 
gram, points  of  close  correlation  with  the  public  school  curriculum 
will  occur  chiefly  in  the  subjects  of  geography,  reading,  history, 
English  composition,  civics  and  morals;  but  the  instruction  in 
religion  will  be  given  in  such  a  manner  that  the  religious  motive 
will  permeate  the  study  of  all  other  subjects. 

XV.  The  curricula  of  both  public  and  church  schools  are 
already  overcrowded.  It  is  futile  to  try  to  include  in  them  all 
subjects  that  are  inherently  and  educationally  valuable.  Hence- 
forth, the  questions:  What  subjects  to  include.  How  much  time 
to  give  to  each,  and  What  subjects  to  exclude,  will  have  to  be 
answered  on  the  basis  of  relative  values. 

XVI.  In  setting  up  a  local  organization  to  carry  through 
such  a  program,  the  following  principles  should  be  recognized : 

1.  Each  denomination,  through  its  properly  constituted  Sun- 
day school  authorities,  has  the  right  and  duty  to  direct  its  own 
Sunday  school  work. 


RESOLUTIONS  AND  DECLARATIONS        179 

2.  There  is  need  of  cooperative  effort  between  the  various 
denominations  and  between  general  organizations  such  as  the 
International  Sunday  School  Association,  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  and 
Y.  W.  C.  A. 

3.  Community  and  local  organizations  have  rights  of  initiative 
and  local  self-government. 

4.  The  cooperating  local  churches  and  organizations  have  the 
right  as  such  to  be  fully  represented  in  the  direction  and  control 
of  any  community  movement  which  has  for  its  purpose  either  the 
training  of  workers  for  the  local  churches  of  the  religious  instruc- 
tion of  the  children  of  the  churches. 

XVII.  In  the  selection  and  employment  of  teachers  who  are 
to  be  responsible  for  the  week-day  program,  the  primary  con- 
sideration is  their  ability  to  teach  with  sincerity  and  enthusiasm, 
the  material  contained  in  the  week-day  curriculum.  Such  ability 
presupposes  both  professional  training  and  personal  loyalty  to 
those  great  spiritual  truths  that  underlie  all  ordered  and  peaceable 
civilization. 

XVIII.  A  careful  estimate  of  the  necessary  budget  should  be 
made  in  advance  of  the  launching  of  the  work.  Adequate  funds 
should  be  provided  from  sources  that  are,  themselves,  permanent 
and  substantial. 

VII.      RELATIONS  TO  PUBLIC  EDUCATION 

I.    Attitude  of  Educational  Authorities 

DEPAETMENT  OF  PUBLIC  INSTRUCTION" 
Rochester,  New  York 

January,  1920. 
To  the  parent : 

At  a  recent  meeting  of  the  Board  of  Education  the  following 
resolution  was  passed  concerning  religious  instruction : 

The  importance  of  religious  instruction  both  to  the  individual  and 
to  the  country,  is  generally  recognized.  By  common  consent,  how- 
ever, the  free  public  school  system  of  this  country  cannot  teach  relig* 
ion.  The  responsibility  for  such  instruction  must  rest  upon  the  home 
and  the  church.  But  the  public  school  can  and  should  cooperate  to 
the  limit  of  its  power  with  the  home  and  the  church  to  the  end  that 
the  greatest  possible  number  of  boys  and  girls  may  receive  effective 
religious  instruction. 

''Under  the  single  teacher  plan  of  school  organization  that  usually 
prevails  in  the  elementary  school,  it  is  necessary  that  all  pupils  should 


180         THE  WEEK-DAY  CHURCH-SCHOOL 

remain  in  school  during  the  entire  day.  But  under  the  subject  de- 
partmental plan  of  the  upper  high  school,  the  subject  group  depart- 
mental plan  of  the  junior  high  school,  and  the  semi- departmental 
plan  now  operative  in  some  of  the  elementary  schools,  it  is  practi- 
cable, under  certain  conditions,  to  allow  pupils  to  leave  the  school  .for 
a  period  of  religious  instruction  without  thereby  interfering  with 
their  normal  scliool  progress. 

''Therefore,  Be  it  Resolved: — That  upon  an  approved  application 
from  any  established  religious  body  or  society  incorporated  under 
the  laws  of  the  State  of  New  York,  the  Board  of  Education  cooperate 
in  this  work  of  religious  instruction  by  excusing  pupils  for  such  in- 
struction subject  to  the  following  provisions: 

"1.  Pupils  shall  be  excused  for  religious  instruction  upon  the 
written  request  of  parents  or  guardians  only. 

"2.  The  religious  body  desiring  to  give  such  instruction  shall  file 
with  the  Board  of  Education  a  written  application  stating  the  length 
of  the  course,  the  name  and  qualifications  of  the  instructor,  and  the 
location  and  nature  of  the  facilities  that  have  been  provided  for 
this  instruction.  It  shall,  furthermore,  furnish  such  reports  of  at- 
tendance and  progress  of  pupils  as  the  Board  of  Education  may 
require. ' ' 

(Here  follows  a  paragraph  giving  information  about  a  par- 
ticular religious  school.) 

You  will  note  that  the  school  will  not  excuse  pupils  for  this 
purpose  except  upon  the  specific  request  of  parents.  If  you 
desire  to  register  your  child  for  the  course  please  fill  the  enclosed 
card  and  return  it  pot  later  than  Friday  of  this  week. 

Very  truly  yours, 

HERBERT  S.  WEET, 

Superintendent  of  Schools. 

October,  1920. 
THE  STATE  OP  ILLINOIS 

Statement  Issued  hy  State  Superintendent  Blair  of  Springfield,  III., 
with  Belation  to  the  Oak  Parle  Weelc-day  Beligious  Instruction. 

"The  State  Superintendent  of  Instruction  commenting  upon  week- 
day religious  instruction  points  out  that  there  is  no  illegality  about 
the  program.  Beyond  the  state  requirement  that  physiology  and 
hygiene  be  taught  to  every  child,  each  community  is  charged  vsdth 
the  responsibility  of  determining  its  ov^n  course  of  study.  State 
Superintendent  Blair  states  that  there  are  no  definite  hours  of  instruc- 
tion required  by  law.  In  this  also  the  community  fixes  its  own  hours 
of  instruction.  It  has  the  right  to  permit  children  to  go  to  classes 
in  religion  if  the  parents  so  desire.  The  decision  is  one  for  the 
parents  to  make  in  each  individual  case  after  the  Board  of  Education 
has  granted  permission. '  * 


RESOLUTIONS  AND  DECLARATIONS        181 

THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  THE  STATE   OF  NEW  YORK 

Memorcmdum  for  President  Finley  from  Dr.  Wheeloch: 

It  seema  to  me  that  the  quotation  from  State  Superintendent  Blair 
of  Illinois  covers  the  ease  very  fully  for  New  York  State  as  well  as 
for  Illinois.  Our  law  provides,  as  does  the  law  of  Illinois,  that  the 
Board  of  Education  or  Board  of  Trustees  shall  prescribe  courses  of 
study  to  be  pursued  in  such  schools,  but  does  not  fix  the  number  of 
hours  per  day  which  must  be  devoted  to  such  instruction.  It  would 
seem  to  me  that  if  the  time  devoted  to  religious  instruction  does  not 
interfere  with  the  regular  work  of  the  school,  there  would  be  no 
legal  restriction  on  such  work,  that  it  is  entirely  within  the  discretion 
of  any  local  school  board  to  determine  whether  or  not  there  is  such 
interference. 

(Signed)  Chas.  F.  Wheblook. 
October  18,  1920. 


CHAPTER  XX 

SOUECES  OF  INFORMATION 

I.      AGENCIES 

1.  The  Beligious  Education  Association  (1440  East  57th 
Street,  Chicago)  has  published  several  hundred  pages  on  the 
subject  in  the  magazine,  "Religious  Education,"  and  in  pamphlet 
form.  It  has  given  away  hundreds  of  thousands  of  pamphlets  on 
this  and  other  aspects  of  its  work;  commonly  these  may  be  had, 
free,  on  application.  It  maintains  a  Bureau  of  Information  to 
answer  specific  questions  in  this  field.  It  has  held  a  number  of 
conferences  on  week-day  work,  and  many  of  its  officers  are  ready 
to  give  personal  advice  and  aid. 

2.  Inter-Denominational  Committee  on  Week-Day  Religious 
Instruction  (Secretary:  Mrs.  Harry  Webb  Farrington,  615  West 
138th  Street,  New  York),  organized  to  cooperate  with  all  educa- 
tional and  religious  bodies  in  New  York  City  in  the  study  of 
problems,  preparation  of  plans  adapted  to  differing  situations  and 
various  church  communions,  and  to  secure  cooperative  effort 
looking  toward  city-wide  provision  for  week-day  work. 

3.  Denominational  Boards.  A  number  of  the  denominational 
boards  of  "Sunday  Schools"  and  of  "Religious  Education"  have 
appointed  special  secretaries  in  charge  of  this  work.  Amongst 
them  are: 

Baptists  (Northern),  Rev.  T.  S.  Young,  1701  Chestnut  Street, 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Presbyterian  (U.  S.  A.),  Rev.  W.  A.  Squires,  Witherspoon 
Building,  Philadelphia. 

Methodist,  S.  S,  Board,  Rev.  James  V.  Thompson,  58  East 
Washington  Street,  Chicago,  111. 

Episcopal,  Mr.  Edward  Sargent,  389  Fourth  Avenue,  New 
York  City. 

4.  The  International  Sunday  School  Association  (5  North 
Wabash  Avenue,  Chicago)  has  a  committee  on  education  whose 
province  it  is  to  study  week-day  instruction  and  to  promote  plans 
for  the  same.  Its  work  has  up  to  this  date  been  restricted  prin- 
cipally to  the  development  of  community  training  institutions  to 
prepare  voluntary  workers. 

182 


SOURCES  OF  INFORMATION  183 


n.      LITEEIATURE   ON   METHODS 

1.  Books  : 

**  G.  U.  Wenner,  "Religious  Education  and  the  Public  Schools'' 
(American  Tract  Society,  1913). 

The  first  proposal  of  a  plan  suitable  to  American  conditions. 

B.  S.  Winchester,  "Religious  Education  and  Democracy" 
(Abingdon  Press,  1917). 

A  review  and  survey  of  the  need  and  a  study  of  several  experi- 
ments in  week-day  work. 

W.  S.  Athearn,  "Religious  Education  and  American  Democ- 
racy" (Pilgrim  Press,  1917). 

A  brief  study  of  week-day  schools  and  accredited  high-school 
work,  with  special  reference  to  a  community  system  of  religious 
education. 

**  Henry  F.  Cope,  "The  Week-Day  Church  School"  (Geo.  H. 
Doran  Co.,  1921). 

A  survey  of  week-day  work  in  the  United  States  up  to  date, 
with  brief  discussion  of  principles,  methods  and  needs,  intended 
to  guide  those  planning  week-day  schools. 

2.  Pamphlets  : 

(1)  "Week-day  Church  Schools  of  Gary,"  A.  A.  Brown,  Reli- 
gious Education  Association.* 

(2)  "Instruction  in  Religion  in  Relation  to  Public  Education," 
Religious  Education  Association.* 

(3)  "Teachers  for  Week-day  Schools  of  Religion,"  W.  S. 
Athearn,  Religious  Education  Association.* 

(4)  "Religious  Instruction  and  Public  Education,"  8  papers; 
Religious  Education  Association.* 

The  above  are  surveys  of  the  situation  and  of  experiments  up 
to  1916.  They  also  discuss  the  educational  and  civic  principles 
involved. 

(5)  "Week-day  Religious  Instruction,"  Bulletin  No.  14;  Amer- 
ican Baptists. 

(6)  "The  Gary  Plan  of  Church  Schools,"  Presbyterian  Board. 

(7)  "The  Progress  of  Week-day  Religious  Instruction,"  Chi- 
cago Church  Federation. 

**  Indicates  the  essential  books  and  pamphlets  on  account  of  Imme- 
diacv  and  completeness. 

*  Indicates  out  of  print,  but  this  material  is  of  sufficient  value  to 
be  found  in  libraries,  especially  in  college  and  theological  seminary 
libraries. 


184  THE  WEEK-DAY  CHURCH-SCHOOL 

(8)  "Two  Types  of  Week-day  Church  Schools,"  Presbyterian 
Board. 

(9)  "Some  Questions,"  Department  of  Religious  Education, 
Protestant  Episcopal  Board. 

**(10)  "The  Van  Wert  Plan,"  Local  Religious  Education  Board, 
Van  Wert,  Ohio.     (25c.) 

**(11)  The  Community  Religious  Schools  at  Gary,  Local  Board 
of  Religious  Education,  700  Adams  St.,  Gary,  Ind.     (25c.) 

(12)  "The  Toledo  Plan,"  Inter-Church  Federation,  Nicholas 
Building,  Toledo,  Ohio. 

(13)  Reports  of  the  Interdenomination  Committee  for  Work- 
day Religious  Instruction,  625  West  138th  Street,  New  York  City. 

(14)  "The  Educational  Work  of  the  Church,"  Bulletin  10 
(1919);  U.  S.  Bureau  of  Education. 

The  above  are  brief  surveys  and  reports  covering  the  period 
between  1917  and  1920.  No.  7  gives  a  concise  summary  of  nearly 
all  plans  in  1920.  No.  8  classifies  the  principal  schools  according 
to  plans  of  organization.  No.  9  answers  practical  questions  on 
plan  of  organization.  No.  14  includes  the  week-day  schools  and 
Sunday  schools,  but  does  not  give  statistical  reports. 

(15)  "The  Wednesday  Religious  Hour,"  G.  U.  Wenner,  The 
Lutheran  Society. 

(16)  "Week-day  Religious  Instruction,"  R.  W.  Miller,  Re- 
formed Church. 

**(17)  "Week-day  Religious  Instruction,"  John  E.  Stoul,  De- 
partment of  Religious  Education,  Northwestern  University.  (25c.) 
Nos.  15  and  16  are  earlier  documents  on  the  need  for  week-day 
schools  of  religion.  No.  1  is  a  careful  study  of  the  principles 
involved  and  of  the  methods  of  organization,  curriculum  and 
school  work. 

Pamphlets  on  High-school  Accredited  Study — 

"North  Dakota  Plan  of  Bible  Study,"  Religious  Education 
Association.* 

"Credit  for  Bible  Study,"  Religious  Education  Association.* 

"Secondary  Credit  Courses  in  Bible  Study,"  Iowa  State  Teach- 
ers^ Association. 

Commission  report  on  "Unit  of  Bible  Study  for  Secondary 
Schools,"  Religious  Education  Association. 

**  Indicates  the  essential  boolis  and  pamphlets  on  account  of  imme- 
diacy and  completeness. 

*  Indicates  out  of  print,  but  this  material  is  of  sufficient  value  to 
be  found  in  libraries,  especially  in  college  and  theological  seminary 
libraries. 


SOURCES  OF  INFORMATION  185 

"Bible  Study  and  the  Public  Schools,"  Presbyterian  Board. 
Pamphlets  on  the  Daily   Vacation  Schools  may  be  obtained 
from  any  of  the  denominational  boards. 

3.    Articles  : 

(1)  In  "Religious  Education" : 

Athearn,  W.  S.,  "Teachers  for  Week-day  Religious  Schools," 
June,  1916,  p.  245. 

Bradner,  Lester,  "The  Gary  Plan,"  February,  1915,  p.  5. 

*  Brown,  Arlo  A.,  "The  Week-day  Schools  of  Gary,"  February, 
1916,  p.  5. 

Brown,  S.  W.,  "Present  Legal  Status,"  April,  1916,  p.  103.  ^ 

*  Coe,  G.  A.,  "A  General  View  of  the  Movement,"  April,  1916, 
p.  109. 

*  Cope,  Henry  F.,  "The  Church  and  the  Public  School,"  De- 
cember, 1915,  p.  566. 

*  Committee  of  Seven,  Report  on  New  York  City,  February, 
1915,  p.  46. 

*  Cowles,  May  K.,  "Van  Wert  Plan,"  February,  1920,  p.  26. 

*  Davis,  Dora,  "Progress  in  Week-day  Instruction,"  June,  1919, 
p.  193. 

Ensign,  F.  C,  "Religious  Education  and  the  Public  Schools," 
December,  1915,  p.  549. 

Finley,  John  H.,  "Week-day  Religious  Instruction,"  February, 
1918,  p.  5. 

Gardner,  W.  E.,  "Correlations,"  August,  1914,  p.  392. 

Haas,  J.  A.,  "Week-day  Religious  Education  and  Public 
Schools,"  February,  1914,  p.  26. 

*  Hoag,  Victor,  "Batavia  Plan,"  December,  1920,  p.  307. 
Hughes,  R.,  "Limitations  of  the  Public   Schools,"  February, 

1912,  p.  578. 

Kelly,  R.  L.,  "School  and  Church  Cooperating,"  December, 
1915,  p.  540. 

*  Krumbine,  M.  H.,  "Dayton,  Ohio,"  December,  1920,  p.  344. 
Lewis,  E.  S.,  "Do  Plans  Endanger  Our  Liberties?"  June,  1916, 

p.  259. 

*  Lynch,  L.  V.,  "The  Lakewood  Plan,"  June,  1915,  p.  256. 
Magnes,  J.  L.,  "Attitude  of  the  Jews,"  June,  1916,  p.  226. 
Meyer,  H.  H.,  "Protestant  Point  of  View,"  June,  1916,  p.  239. 
Mudge,  E.  L.,  "Psychology  of  Week-day  Religious  School,"  De- 
cember, 1920,  p.  305. 

*  Descriptive  and  Historical  Articles. 


186  THE  WEEK-DAY  CHURCH-SCHOOL 

•Mutch,  W.  J.,  "Madison  Religious  Day  School,"  August,  1914, 
p.  386. 

Myers,  C.  A.,  "Correlated  Bible  Study  in  Canada,"  June,  1915, 
p.  269. 

*  Seaman,  W.  G.,  "The  Gary  Plan,  Reports  on,"  October,  1918, 
p.  388. 

*  Seaman,  W.  G.,  "The  Gary  Plan,"  December,  1918,  p.  423. 

*  Settle,  M.  T.,  "Community  Schools,"  June,  1916,  p.  252. 

*  Squires,  V.  P.,  "North  Dakota  Plan,"  June,  1915,  p.  264. 
Stout,  J.  A.,  "Community  Projects,"  December,  1920,  p.  310. 
Thompson,  J.  V.,  "Conditions  of  Week-day  Work,"  December, 

1920,  p.  342. 

White,  F.  M.,  "Religious  Day  School,"  December,  1910,  p.  504. 

Wirt,  W.  A.,  "Gary  Public  School  and  Churches,"  June,  1916, 
p.  221. 

*  Vaughn,  H.  R.,  "Religious  Day  School,"  April,  1920,  p.  108. 
Wood,  C.  A.,  "Religious  Week-day  Instruction,"  August,  1917, 

p.  259. 

Zepin,  George,  "The  Gary  Plan,"  June,  1915,  p.  259. 

Reports  on  various  experiments,  see  Vol.  15  (1920),  pp.  26, 
48,  50,  124,  166,  186,  296,  307,  309. 

(2)     Other  Periodicals: 

A  Review  in  "Literary  Digest,"  October  19,  1915. 

Bradner,  Lester,  "Arkansas  Teacher,"  February,  1915. 

Coe,  George  A.,  "School  and  Society,"  January  20,  1915. 

Cope,  Henry  F.,  "Bible  and  Public  Schools,"  "Open  Court," 
September,  1920. 

Hogan,  W.  E.,  Bulletin  Southern  Methodist  Board  of  Educa- 
tion, February,  1915. 

Winchester,  B.  S.,  "The  Church  School,"  September,  1920. 

Reports  of  Schools,  "The  Christian  Educator,"  April,  1920. 

Kelly,  R.  L.,  "Educator  Journal,"  December,  1913. 

Weis,  J.  Max,  on  Gary  schools,  "Hebrew  Union  College 
Monthly,"  March,  1919. 

4.    Material  in  Books: 

Atheam,  W.  S.,  "Religious  Education  and  American  Democ- 
racy," pp.  113-135. 

Athearn,  W,  S.,  "Correlation  of  Church  Schools  and  Public 
Schools,"  Maiden  Pamphlets,  No.  2. 

Brown,  S.  W.,  "Secularization  of  American  Education." 

An  important  historical  study  of  the  separation  of  church  and 
state  in  education. 

*  Descriptive   and    Historical   Articles. 


SOURCES  OP  INFORMATION  187 

Cope,  Henry  F.,  "School  in  the  Modem  Church"  (Doran,1919). 

Chs.  8-10. 

Discusses  week-day  work  in  relation  to  the  larger  program  of 
the  church  school. 

Cope,  Henry  F.,  "Religious  Education  in  the  Church"  (Scrib- 
ners,  1918).     Ch.  20. 

On  the  place  of  week-day  work  in  the  activities  of  a  church. 

Cope,  Henry  F.,  "Education  for  Democracy"  (Macmillan, 
1920).     Ch.  17. 

The  plan  from  the  community  point  of  view  and  in  relation 
to  social  and  civic  needs. 

Coe,  George  A.,  "A  Social  Theory  of  Religious  Education" 
(Scribners,  1917).     Ch.  16. 

Fundamental  conditions  for  an  extended  program  of  religious 
instruction. 

Winchester,  B.  S.,  in  "Cooperation  in  Christian  Education" 
(Missionary  Education  Movement,  1917).     Ch.  2. 

An  historical  and  current  survey,  fairly  comprehensive,  includ- 
ing the  general  conditions,  prepared  as  a  report  for  The  Federal 
Council  of  Churches. 

Chappell,  Harriet,  "The  Church  Vacation  School"  (Revell, 
1915). 

The  organization  and  methods  of  the  daily  vacation  school. 

Stafford,  Hazel  S.,  "The  Vacation  Religious  School"  (Abing- 
don, 1920). 

An  account  of  the  vacation  schools  founded  by  Mr.  Vaughn, 
with  especially  valuable  treatment  of  the  curriculum. 

Encyclopaedia  of  Sunday  Schools — Articles  "Gary,"  "Week- 
day." 

III.      LITERATURE    ON    GENERAL    PRINCIPLES 

(Books  and  articles  which  deal  with  the  fundamental  prin- 
ciples of  instruction  in  religion  in  relation  to  general  education.)^ 

Brown,  Samuel  W.,  "The  Secularization  of  American  Educa- 
tion"  (Teachers'  College). 

Cope,  Henry  F.,  "Education  for  Democracy"  (Macmillan, 
1920). 

Cope,  Henry  F.,  "Bible  and  Public  Schools"  ("Open  Court," 
September,  1920). 

Crocker,  J.  H.,  "Religious  Freedom  in  American  Education" 
(American  Unitarian  Association,  1903). 

Coe,  George  A.,  "A  Social  Theory  of  Religious  Education," 
Ch.  17  (Scribners,  1917). 


188  THE  WEEK-DAY  CHURCH-SCHOOL 

Gladden,  W.,  "Religion  and  Public  Schools"  (in  Atlantic 
Monthly,  January,  1915). 

Fisher,  G.  P.,  "On  American  Controversy"  (Forum,  Vol.  VH, 
p.  119).  "The  French  Schools  Debate"  (Journal  of  Education, 
London,  April,  1910). 

Hall,  Arthur  J.,  "Religious  Education  in  the  Public  Schools  of 
the  State  and  City  of  New  York"  (University  of  Chicago  Press). 

Harris,  W.  T.,  Report  of  the  Commissioner  of  Education,  1897- 
1898,  Chs.  31  and  32. 

Harris,  W.  T.,  "The  Separation  of  the  Church  from  the  Public 
School,"  Proc.  N.  E.  A,  1903,  pp.  351-360. 

narrower,  Pascal,  Report  of  a  Questionnaire,  on  the  subject  of 
"Moral  and  Religious  Instruction  in  Our  Public  Schools,  and  of 
Week-day  Religious  Education,"  June,  1909.  (West  New 
Brighton,  N.  Y.) 

Hervey,  W.  L.,  "Religious  Teaching  in  Elementary  Public 
Schools,"  Bible  in  Practical  Life,  p.  311.  (Religious  Education 
Association,  1904.) 

Home,  H.  H.,  "Religious  Teaching  in  Public  Schools,"  Bible 
in  Practical  Life,  p.  276.  (Religious  Education  Association, 
1904.) 

Hughes,  Richard  C,  "Limitations  of  Public  Schools,"  Religious 
Education,  February,  1912,  pp.  578-587. 

Hurlbut,  Elisha  P.,  "A  Secular  View  of  Religion  in  the  State, 
and  the  Bible  in  the  Public  Schools."  (J.  Munsell,  Albany,  N.  Y., 
1870.) 

Janssen,  Johannes,  "Elementary  Schools  and  Religious  Educa- 
tion of  the  People."  (Philadelphia,  1903.)  A  reprint  of  Chapter 
2,  Vol.  I,  "History  of  the  German  People." 

Lesher,  G.  W.,  "Religious  Instruction  in  State  Schools."  Re- 
port of  Baptist  Congress,  1905,  p.  68. 

Manning,  H.  E.,  "On  the  American  Controversy,"  Forum,  Vol. 
VII,  p.  52. 

Northern  Illinois  Teachers'  Association,  Eastern  Section.  Meet- 
ing at  Joliet,  Illinois,  November  6  and  7,  1908.  General  topic 
for  session:  "Moral  and  Religious  Education  in  the  Public 
Schools."    Supplemental  papers  (n.  p.,  1908). 

Peabody,  Andrew  P.,  "Bible  in  Public  Schools,"  U.  S.  Reports 
97,  8  pp.,  1563-65. 

Picton,  J.  Allanson,  "The  Bible  in  School."     (Watts  &  Co.) 

Riley,  A.  N.,  "The  Religious  Questions  in  Public  Education." 
(Religious  Education,  February,  1912,  pp.  588,  589.) 

Riley,  A.  N.,  et  al.,  "The  Religious  Question  in  Public  Educa- 
tion."    (Longmans  &  Co.) 


IKDEX 


Abernethy,    Mary    E.,    Supt.    at 

Gary,  58 
Abingdon    Series    of    text-books, 

126 
Absence  blank,  165 
Accredited       high-school       Bible 

Study,  77,  147,  184 
Administration,  113 

educational,  character  of,   114 
Attendance   Eecord   Forms,    166, 

169 
Avann,  Eev.  W.  A.  (Gary),  57 

Baltimore,  schools,  84 
Batavia,  111.,  schools,  70,  164 
Beacon  Course  of  lessons,   139 
Bible  in  public  schools,  extent  of 
use,  12,  13 

courses  in  high-schools,  149 
Bible  Study  in  secondary  schools, 

147 
Bibliography,  182 
Board    of    Religious    Education, 
58,  95 

duties  of,  95,  100 
Boards,  local,  community,  42 
Budgets  and  maintenance,  104 

at  Batavia,  71 

at  Gary,  65 

at  Van  Wert,  69 

educational  principles,  106 
Buildings  and  Equipment,  61 

Calumet  District,  schools,  81 

Chicago,  schools,  86 

Christian  Nurture  Series  of  les- 
sons, 139 

Church,    extent    of    religious    in- 
struction in,  12 
conducting  own  school,  49 
failure  in  education,  21,  118 
Federation  Plans,  98,  99 
financial  responsibility  of,  105 
group  organization,  42,  49 


Church,   (continued) 

of      The      Atonement      (New 
York) ,   curriculum,    129 
Church  Summer  School  (Dayton), 

88 
Cincinnati,  schools,   84 
Colorado     plan     of     high-school 

work,   147 
Community,   Organization,  94 
and  Church  plans  of  organiza- 
tion, 41,  49 
Boards,   types  of   schools  con- 
ducted by,  42 
extent  of  religious  instruction 

in,  12 
mass  meeting  for  organization, 

95 
organization  for  school,  advan- 
tages of,  47 
programs,  99,  f 
responsibility,  financial,  105 
Constructive  Series  of  lessons,  138 
Corydon,  Iowa,  schools,  72 
Cowles,   May   K.,   Supt.   at   Van 

Wert,  Ohio,  67 
Credits  for  week-day  work,  77 
Curriculum,  problems  of,  125 
at  Gary,  64,  126 
for  high-schools,  149 
of   Vacation   schools,   130,  143 
Cuyahoga  Falls,  schools,  81 

Dangers  in  plans,  118 
Dayton,  Ohio,  school,  88 
Denominational  schools,  49 
Dramatization  work  in  schools,  91 

East  Chicago,  schools,  81 
Educational    authorities    on    the 

plans,  179,  f 
Elmira,   N.   Y.,   schools,   86 
Enrolment  at  Gary,  analysis  of, 

62,  f 
at  Van  Wert,  68 
Evanston,  schools,  83 


189 


190 


INDEX 


rarrington,  H.  W.,  86 
Federation  of  churches,  plans,  98 
Finances  of  schools,  104 

ethics  of,  109 
Forma  used  in  schools,  160 

Gary,  Ind.,  schools,  56,  f 

curriculum  at,  64 
Grand  Rapids,  Mich.,  schools,  84 

Hammond,  Ind.,  schools,  79 
High-school  plans,  77,  147 
Hoag,    Rev.    Victor,   information 

from,  70 
Holiday  periods  for  schools,  51 
Hyde  Park,  Chicago,  schools,  100 

Indiana  Harbor,  Ind.,  schools,  81 
Information,   published    accounts 

on   schools,    182,   f 
sources   of,   182 
Inter-church    community    system, 

42,  47 
Inter-church  surveys,  15,  16 
International    series    of    lessons, 

138 
International   S.   S.    Association, 

resolutions  of,  171 

Krumbine,  Rev.   Miles   H.,  Day- 
ton, 88 

La  Grange,  111.,  schools,  87 

Lakewood,    Ohio,    plan    of   high- 
school  work,  148 

Leadership,  expert,  113 

Local  church  schools,  49 

Lutheran  Church,  Dayton,  curric- 
ulum, 130 
organization,   88 

Maintenance  of  schools,  104 
educational  principles  involved, 
106 

Methodist,    statement    of    princi- 
ples, 176 

Methods,  literature  on,  183 

New  York  City,  schools,  85 
North  Dakota  plan  of  high-school 

work,  148 
Northfield,  Minn.,  schools,  83 


Northwestern  University,  work  on 
week-day  plans,  79,  83 

Oak  Park,  111.,  schools,  84 
superintendent's  letter,  163 

Organization,  plans  of  local,  41, 
95 
study  of  plans,  47 

Parochial  schools,  36,  37 

Plans  of  week-day  work  analyzed, 

40,  f 
Platform  of  week-day  work,  172 
Play-time  programs,  52,  60 
Prayer,  training  in,  91 
Presbyterian,   statement  of  prin- 
ciples, 172 
Principles  of  work,  books  on,  187 
Professional  leadership,  113,  f 
Programs  in  churches,  conflicting, 
36 
fixed,  importance  of,  112 
of  schools,  study  of,  41,  47,  55 
of  week-day  work,  41,  47 
time  basis  of,  43,  60 
Protestant,    religious   instruction, 
16 
Teachers      Association,      New 
York,  85 
Public-school,  relations  to,  44,  63, 
115,  121,  179 
use  of,  45,  73 
Public  support,  developing,  108 
Purpose  of  week-day  schools,  26, 
111 

Ravenswood,  Chicago,  schools,  87 
Religious  day  schools,  140 
Eeligious       Education,       articles 

from,  185 
Religious  Education  Association, 

resolutions  of,  170 
Religious   Education,   Board,   58, 

95 
present  emergency  in,  17 
Religious    instruction,   extent   of, 

ll,  16 
function  of,  29 
Religious  training,  importance  of, 

30 
Report  forms,  166,  167,  168 
Resolutions    regarding    week-day 

work,  170 
Rochester,  N.  Y.,  schools,  75 


INDEX 


191 


Saturday  type,  51 
Schooling   and   Religious   Educa- 
tion, 28 
School-time  programs,   54 
Scribner  Series  of  lessons,  137 
Sectarianism,  dangers  of,  122 
Somerville,  N.  J.,  schools,  82 
Sources  of  information,  182 
Staff    for    school,    selection    of, 

96 
Statistical  surveys,  15 
St.  Mark's  school,  Toledo,  78 
Stout,    Prof.    John    E.,    work   at 

Hammond,  79 
Sunday     School     Council,     state- 
ment, 173 
Sunday  schools,  limitations  of,  13 
failure  to  meet  need,  18,  22 
financial  support  of,  21 
problem  and  the  S.  S.,  17,  19 
problems  of,  18 
relations  to,  63 
Summer  school  of  religious  educa- 
tion, 83 
Survey  of  present  plans,  40 


Teachers,  standards  for,  44 
Text-book  selection,  136 
Time-programs  of  schools,  43,  60 
Toledo,  Ohio,  schools,  76 
Types  of  schools,  analyzed,  41,  46 

Vacation  church  school,  88 
Vacation    schools    (Vaughn,    H. 

R.),  140 
Daily  Bible  schools,  135,  145 
Van  Wert,  Ohio,  schools,  67 
Vaughn,  Rev.  Howard  R.,  140 
Voluntary  effort,  inadequate,  26, 

113 

Wednesday  afternoon  type,  51 
Week-day      work,      current      in 

churches,  33,  f 
significance  of,  25 
Westminster,    Week-day    lessons, 

128 
Whiting,  Ind.,  schools,  81 
Wirt,  Wm.  E.,  Supt.  of  schools, 

Gary,  57 
Worship,  training  in,  91 


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